Human By Day, Hedgehogs By Night
by The Chuckinator
Summary: An accidental Chaos Control caused by Doctor Eggman sends Sonic, Shadow and Silver to a different dimension, who are transformed into humans but turn back into their original forms every night. The Chaos Emeralds have sent them to help as they are being drained of their Chaos Energy, and the three must find out what is draining their power and battle Eggman at the same time. AU
1. A Different Dimension

Human by Day, Hedgehogs By Night

By Fangs of Lightning and The Chuckinator

Chapter 1: A Different Dimension

An explosion rang out through the city. Sonic ran, followed by Silver and Shadow, as they chased Eggman.

"How's he always so ahead of us?" Silver asked.

Sonic shrugged. "Beats me," he said.

They soon came to Eggman's base and looked around. Their eyes widened as they saw that Eggman had all the Chaos Emeralds in a glass case.

"When did he get all of those?" Shadow walked over to the case and looked at it. "How did we not know he was collecting them?"

"You've fallen into my trap!" A voice said. They all turned to see Doctor Eggman. He laughed as he pressed a button, and the Chaos Emeralds started sparking before they were all caught in Chaos Control.

The light blinded them for a minute before they could look around again. They stood in a different place, with many cars going by and the city completely different. Shadow growled. "Chaos Control must have sent us to a different dimension."

"Yeah, but which?" Silver turned to look at them and shouted in surprise. "You two are human!"

"So are you," Sonic said.

Shadow and Sonic looked at each other and back to Silver. Shadow was wearing black pants, a red and black sweatshirt with a long fluffy while collar. His hair was sticking up also. Silver had black jeans on, and a white t-shirt. Bangs fell to his eyes and his hair was to his shoulders. Sonic was the last one to examine himself. He wore blue shorts and a t-shirt that had a peach center. All three had their normal shoes on, as well as their gloves, and their eye color was the same.

"It must have been the Chaos Emeralds," Shadow said. "Though why we were sent here is still a mystery."

"We're on a parallel Earth," Silver said.

"So... How do we get home?"

"We need to find the Chaos Emeralds," Sonic said. "They're here too. Also, I suggest we blend in. Give ourselves new names, go to school, things like that."

Shadow nodded. "Okay. Why new names?"

"Think about it. Shadow, Sonic and Silver aren't exactly common names. Besides, we'll be undercover also."

"That makes sense."

Sonic nodded. "I'll be Maurice. What about you, Silver?"

The human thought about it. "Silvond, I guess."

"I'll be Shade," Shadow said.

Maurice nodded and they walked off. Eventually they found a house and bought it. "How are we going to do all this?" Silvond asked.

Shade shrugged. "Look for the Chaos Emeralds in our free time, I guess."

"Okay. What about school?"

"We'll do that also."

Silvond nodded and they continued to talk. Eventually night fell and the three felt pain in their bodies. They were back in their hedgehog forms a few minutes later.

"What happened?" Sonic asked.

"I don't know. Maybe the change wasn't permanent?"

Sonic shrugged and they went to sleep. In the morning, they found themselves human again. Maurice figured it out. "Apparently we change into hedgehogs at night and human during the day."

"That's odd," Shadow said.

Maurice looked at Shade and nodded. The three left and went to school. They went to the main office to get enrolled as students. The principal nodded and handed them their schedules. Maurice went to his first class and saw a human. He smiled and sat besides him.

"I'm Chris Thorndyke," the human said. "What's your name?"

"Maurice." He smiled at him. "It's nice to meet you, Chris."

Chris smiled. "You're a new student?"

"Yeah, I just stared classes today."

"I've been here for a while. Why don't I show you around?"

"I'd appreciate that. Thanks."

Chris nodded and class began. At lunch, Maurice met up with his 'brothers', Shade and Silvond, and introduced Chris to them. Chris smiled and waved at them. "It's nice to meet you."

Silvond shook Chris's hand. "So you're in History class with Maurice?"

"Yes, I am."

"It's nice to meet you also. So, Maurice, what do you think of school so far?" Silvond asked, turning his attention to his brother.

"It's been fine so far." Maurice shrugged.

"So far." Shade nodded.

Silvond nodded and the four continued to eat.

"So, have you lived here in Station Square your whole life?" Chris asked them.

Shade shook his head. "No. We moved here just recently."

"I've lived here my whole life."

"Do you know the area?" Silvond asked.

Chris nodded, and Silvond looked at his brothers. Maybe he could help them. "Could you show us around after school sometime?" Silvond asked.

"Sure, I can do that."

The bell rang for the next class and they stood up. After Chris left, Silvond looked at his brothers. "He might be able to help us with...you know."

Shade and Maurice hesitated; they didn't want Chris to know their secret just yet.

"Let's wait and see if we can trust him with that," Shade said.

"That would be best," Maurice said as they headed to their next class.

"Should we meet up outside the building once school's out?"

"Yeah," Silvond sad. "See you two later."

His brothers nodded and they left to go to their respective classes. A few hours later, the three met up outside of the school.

"It was a good first day at school," Maurice said. "But I have lots of homework. How about you two?"

Silvond and Shade nodded. A few minutes later, a teenage boy walked over to them. He wore a black sleeveless shirt, red pants and shoes, and had red hair. He looked at the three and spoke.

"Hi. You the new guys?" He asked.

"We are," Silvond said. "Who are you?" Crimson chuckled and looked at them, then let out a faint aura of Chaos Energy. Silver's eyes widened. "You're a Chaos Emerald!"


	2. The Transformation

Chapter 2: The Transformation  


The teenager smiled and nodded. "I wanted to take a human form for a while, and wound up going to school. Call me Crimson."

"Are the other emeralds human also?" Silvond asked.

"Yes. Most of them are at school, as well. I was the red one."

Shade spoke up. "Was it the seven of you who sent us here?" The human nodded, and Shade looked at him. "Why?"

"We need your help."

"With what?"

"There's something trying to suck our energy."

"Is it Doctor Eggman?" Maurice asked.

"We think it might be. But knowing that doesn't help us at all," Crimson said.

"What do you want us to do?" Silvond asked Crimson.

"Find out what's trying to drain our power."

"We'll do that. One question that I would like to ask you is, why are we human? And why do we change into hedgehogs at night but become human during the day?"

"You're human because anthropomorphic hedgehogs don't exist in this universe. As for turning into your original selves at night...I have no idea why that happens."

"What about you?" Shade asked. "Do you change back into your emerald forms?"

"No, we don't."

"How come?"

"We don't want to."

Shade smiled. "Don't worry, Crimson. We'll help you and the others." Crimson smiled and walked away as the three teenagers left and walked back to their house. "So, now we know why we're here," Shade said. "What do you guys think?"

"It's pretty interesting," Maurice said. "Do the two of you like being human?"

"I'm used to it," Shade said.

Silvond just shrugged. "I like it."

Maurice nodded; so did he. The two went into their room and began to do their homework. After a few minutes, they heard Maurice yell in frustration.

"What's up?" Shade asked him as he walked into his brother's room.

"I can't figure this out."

"What homework do you have?"

"The math. I can't understand it."

Shade looked at the homework Maurice had. "I might be able to help you with that."

Maurice looked at him. "You can? Thanks, bro!"

Shade smiled. "Anything for my brother."

Maurice smiled and Shade sat next to him on the bed. Shade helped him on his math until Maurice could do the problems himself.

"Ask if you need help with anything else." Shade pat Maurice on the back before getting up and leaving.

He went back to his own homework. Silvond was doing his as well. Maurice frowned as he looked at the rest of his homework. He sighed and moved on to history. This was hard, and he'd been working on it for a few hours. Maurice put his head down on his bed with a sigh. He looked around and stood up, then walked into Silvond's room. Maurice nodded as Shade walked into the room. They looked at the clock and saw that it was almost six PM.

"We should figure out what to do about dinner," Silvond said.

They nodded and walked into the kitchen, getting dinner ready. They sat down and ate the dinner.

The three brothers ate a nice dinner, talking to each other about school. When they finished, the sun had set and the three groaned in pain as they felt their bodies shifting. Maurice fell to the ground, holding his head as his hair started to grow and fuse. Six quills were soon on the back of his head, curving down toward the floor. His ears shifted, growing out of his head as they became pointed like a cat's. Maurice felt fur growing all over his body as more quills came from the back of his shoulders. His body warped as his features were changing. The clothes he had on were reduced to shreds.

Maurice looked at his new body. He looked at Silvond and Shade to see that they were transforming also. Silvond had two long quills on the back of his head with five sticking up where his bangs were while Shade's six curved upward. Fur covered their bodies in a shower of white, and red-black.

Sonic smiled. "This is going to be interesting."

Silvond's head began to change as his eyes moved together, the nose extending off his face. He took his clothes off also, except for his gloves and shoes. Shade did the same and looked at the other two. They had all become anthropomorphic hedgehogs.

"We've changed back," he said. "Until morning, that is."

"Should we just go to sleep, or do something?"

Shadow thought about it and shook his head. "It's not that late. Let's head out and see what the Chaos Emeralds need us to do." Sonic and Silver nodded as they left the house, and Shadow looked at them. The three hedgehogs walked to the school and looked around for Crimson.


	3. Mental Changes

Chapter 3: Mental Changes

They soon found him talking to someone else. The three hedgehogs walked over and saw a female teenager. Crimson looked at them.

"This is Cream," he said. "She's one of us."

"Nice to meet you," she said.

Sonic nodded and held out his hand. "Pleasure," he said. "Hey, do you know if we go through a mental change while we are humans?" He asked Crimson.

Crimson nodded. "You can. Why? Has one happened?"

"It has. Do you know why?"

The transformed Chaos Emerald nodded again and spoke. "It's to help you out while you're in this universe. If you have different memories, then you won't let anything slip."

Sonic smiled, and Shadow spoke up. "Is it only when we are human, or does it happen when we're in these forms also?"

"Only when you're human. Hopefully, that won't have any bad effects."

"How would it have bad effects?"

Crimson shrugged. ""I'm not sure, actually. I'm just worried whether or not it'll have a negative impact on your mind."

Silver shrugged. "That's interesting. Hey, do you know if we will remember our lives as hedgehogs when we are humans?"

The red-haired human shook his head. "I doubt that."

"We won't remember anything about these forms? How come?"

"To protect you. If you remember everything about these forms, who knows what could happen."

Silver, Shadow and Sonic all nodded. That made sense.

"Okay. But are we still going to be ourselves?" Silver asked.

"In human form, no," Crimson said.

Shadow looked at him. "How so?"

"Your memories are going to be different. Because of that, you'll probably act somewhat different. Maybe have different goals and interests."

Shadow nodded. "So, what do you want us to do in those forms compared to these?"

"Whatever you want, I guess."

"And, what about these forms?"

"Just help us. We don't care how you do it, or which form you're in."

Sonic smiled. "But would we not remember you when we are human because of the mental change?"

"You'll remember me. I am going to school with you, after all."

The three hedgehogs nodded and looked around. It was a few hours until the sun came up, so they ran off to explore the city. The few people that were out at that time of night looked surprised when they ran by in search of something interesting. Sonic frowned at the stares they were getting. Eventually, they returned to their home as the sun rose.

"Maybe we shouldn't have stayed out all night," Silver said. "We're going to be tired at school."

"I agree," Shadow said.

The three yelled in pain as the sun rose completely. Their human forms were there a few moments later.

Maurice yawned. "What happened last night?"

"Well, we didn't get drunk," Shade said.

Silvond shrugged. "I don't know. Everything from last night is a blank after the sun set. School starts in an hour. Let's get ready."

The three got everything ready for school and ate some breakfast before they had to leave for school. Once they got there, they saw Crimson, Cream, and some other people waiting for them.

"Hi Crimson," Maurice said. "How are you?"

"I'm well. You?"

"Tired. We were up all night but don't remember anything about what happened."

Crimson chuckled. "You don't remember what you did all night?"

Shade shook his head. "No. Should we? Were you involved?"

"Not that much. It's nothing bad, so don't worry about it."

The three humans nodded and went inside, heading to their first class. Crimson watched them leave and looked at Cream. "Do you think we should tell them?"

"They might figure it out on their own. If not, we could always just wait until they have to know," Cream said.

"That would work. What about the mental change, though?"

"I don't think there's anything anyone can do about the mental change."

Crimson smiled. "We'll introduce the others at lunch," he said as they walked inside. "Tell me, Cream, how do you like being a human?"

"It's more interesting than being a rock."

The human smiled and nodded. "School's not too bad, either."

"I agree," Cream said. "Would you ever want to become a Chaos Emerald again?"

Crimson nodded. "It's my original form. If we need all of our power, it's probably the best form to be in."

"When should we turn into them?"

"When we need to. It'll be harder to find us in human forms."

"Sounds like a plan. Any ideas when we could transform?"

"A few days from now."

Cream nodded and they went to class. In History, Maurice was paying attention to the teacher's lecture. It was interesting. They were starting to learn about powerful ancient civilizations. He jotted down notes as the class continued. When it was over, they were given a project to research an ancient civilization of their choice and write an essay about it. Maurice smiled as he walked to his next class. He saw Silvond and nodded.

"Hi, Silvond," Maurice said. "How was class?"

"It was fun," Silvond said.

Maurice smiled. "What class do you have next? I have English."

"Math."

"What about Shade?"

"I think it's some kind of science."

"That's cool."

Silvond nodded. "We should probably get going."

Maurice smiled at his brother and walked off to English.


	4. Explanations

Chapter 4: Explanations  


As school went on, the three brothers sat in their classes, taking notes and talking to their friends. At lunch, they met up in the cafeteria and saw Crimson and Cream walk up with some other people.

Crimson smiled at them. "Hey, guys. I wanted you to meet the others."

A few more people walked forwards, and Crimson introduced them. "I'd like you to meet Ivory, Iris, Cyan, Ao and Damson."

They smiled. Ivory was a female albino teenager with white hair, and wore a white skirt. Iris and Cyan were female also, and had blue and light blue colored hair, wearing the same things as Ivory. Ao was an Asian teen, and had green hair while wearing a kimono. Damson had purple hair, wore a sweatshirt, shorts and sandles. He smiled at them.

"It's nice to meet you," Silvond said.

"Same here," Damson said, holding out his hand. "Crimson's been telling us a lot about you three."

"Like what?" Shade asked him.

"Like that you can help us."

"Help you?" Confusion came to Maurice's face. "With what?"

Damson looked at Crimson. The human looked at them. "You know who Ivo Robotnik is, I assume?"

The brothers' eyes widened, and they nodded. Their last names were Robotnik.

"What about him?" Silvond asked.

"He's trying to gather the...us, so he can do something. All we know is that it isn't good," Ao said.

"Why does he want you seven?"

"We don't know. It isn't good, but that's all we could figure out."

Silvond nodded. "We'll help. Ivo Robotnik is related to us, anyway."

A look of shock came across Crimson's face. "He's related to you?"

"Yeah," Maurice said. "He's our uncle."

Crimson nodded, still shocked. It had to be the mental change; they had different memories as humans. "And you're fine with going against him?"

"We are. He's done many evil things, and really, we don't like him at all."

"That makes sense."

The three brothers smiled, and Crimson walked away, followed by the others.

Chris looked at Maurice. "What did they mean by that? That Eggman wanted them?"

"Maybe there's something special about them," Maurice said.

"There's something special about you three also," Chris said. "But I can't put my finger on it."

"Something special about us?"

"Like I said, I don't know what it is."

The bell rang, and they all hurried to their next class. After school, they met up with Chris again.

"So, what are you doing after school?" Maurice asked him.

"Homework."

"Same here. We'll see you tomorrow."

Chris smiled and they left. Maurice, Silvond and Shade ran home and began their homework. As they did, they were thinking about what Chris, and Crimson had told them.

"Anyone have any ideas on why he would want those guys?" Silvond asked.

"They said something about something to gather," Maurice said. "Maybe Eggman wants them for something."

"But what? Don't you guys want to come up with theories?"

"We did sense strange auras in their bodies. Maybe it has something to do with that."

"Like living weapons or something?" Shade asked. Silvond and Maurice nodded. "That's interesting."

"What should we do?" Maurice asked.

"We could always just ask them about it."

"Sure."

They finished their homework, and were about to go out for a walk when they heard a knock at the door. Silvond opened it to see Crimson. "Hey," he said, inviting the human in. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you. Hang out for a bit...if you guys don't mind," Crimson said.

"Yeah, that's great. You can hang out."

Crimson smiled and nodded as he sat down on the couch, looking at them. "So, how do you like school?"

"It's nice," Shade said. "We like it a lot. How long have you and your friends been going there?"

"A few weeks."

"How long have you lived here? Your whole life?"

"More or less."

"What was it like growing up here?" Silvond asked him.

"Not that much fun, really. Nothing's changed much in the last sixteen years. I still have the same friends as when I was younger, and school's like it's always been."

"That's nice. So, what did you want to talk to us about?"

"Earlier."

"Go on," Shade said.

Crimson nodded and began to explain. "I was wondering if you had any questions about it. We didn't really explain much of anything."

"We did, actually," Maurice said. "Shade, Silvond and I came up with some theories about you seven. We think that our uncle wants you because you're some sort of living weapons."

"Living weapons?" Crimson's eyes widened in surprise. "What makes you say that?"

"We sensed the energy that you have. It's incredible."

Crimson looked at them in curiosity. These three humans could sense Chaos Energy? "You're right; we do have a lot of Chaos Energy. But how can you three feel it?"

Maurice looked at his brothers, who looked at Crimson.

"We're not sure," Silvond said.

"This is interesting." Crimson smiled. "Oh well. At least it'll be helpful."

"So, why do you have massive amounts of Chaos Energy?"

"We're...special beings."

Silvond cocked his head. "What do you mean?"

Crimson bit his lip. He wasn't sure how much he should tell them. They weren't supposed to know in these forms. He sighed and looked at them. "You'll find out when the time is right."

"All right," Maurice said. "When will that be?"

Crimson shrugged. "Sometime soon."

"Is there anything else that you can tell us?"

"You turn into anthropomorphic hedgehogs every night."

Shade looked at him. "We do? Why?"

Crimson thought about it. "I don't know how to explain it to you."

"That's interesting."

The human smiled and stood. "I suppose I should probably be going now."

The brothers smiled as Crimson left.


	5. Angel Island

Chapter 5: Angel Island

"We can become hedgehogs?" Silvond asked.

Maurice shrugged. "Apparently."

"That's cool."

"I can't wait to see what we look like," Shade said.

They nodded and waited. When night fell, they began to change. They were soon hedgehogs, as well as having different mental states.

"What happened earlier today?" Sonic asked Shadow.

"I don't know." Shadow shook his head.

"Let's ask Crimson," Silver said. The three hedgehogs nodded and left. They found Crimson in the park, staring up at the stars. "Hey," Silver said. "What happened earlier today?"

"You went to school," Crimson said.

"Of course we did. Why can't we remember what happened during the day?"

"Because you're different people during the day. In a manner of speaking, that is."

Silver nodded. "That's interesting."

Crimson smiled at them. "I'm glad you think so."

"So...what did we do as humans?" Maurice asked. "Besides school."

"Not much. You did your homework, and I came over and talked to you."

"What did we talk about?"

"These forms, and what my family is."

Silver smiled. "So...what now?"

"What do you want to do?"

"We'd like to start and help you," Shadow said.

Crimson nodded. "Very well then."

"What do you want us to do?"

The transformed Chaos Emerald smirked and ran off. The three hedgehogs followed him.

"Where are you going?" Silver asked.

"To Angel Island," he said. "The others are there, and we need to find out what's stealing our energy."

Silver nodded and looked at the others as they went to Angel Island. The rest of Crimson's family looked at them and smiled. "Hey, guys."

"Hi," Shadow said. "So, what do you want to talk to us about?"

"What to do next. We need to figure out how our powers are getting absorbed. These forms lessen the effect, but they're going to eventually find out where we are."

"Are you going to become Chaos Emeralds again?"

They all nodded. "Yes, we are."

"When, and why?" Sonic asked.

"In a few minutes. It'll help discover what's taking our energy."

"Will it be permanent?"

"Most likely. The Master Emerald has control over that."

"Have you always been Chaos Emeralds or were you human since birth?" Silver asked.

"We've always been Chaos Emeralds. The Master gave us human forms recently."

"That's cool. But why'd you tell us that story about you living here for sixteen years as humans?"

Crimson smiled. "We're supposed to be in hiding."

"Where is the Master Emerald?" Sonic asked as he looked around.

"Not here yet. I don't know why he's so late."

"He?" Crimson nodded. A few minutes later, they heard a shout and saw a teenager run up. Sonic frowned. "Who are you?" He asked the boy.

"My name's Chris Thorndyke." He smiled at the hedgehog.

"So you're the Master Emerald?"

"Yeah."

Sonic smiled. "That's awesome. So you're going to transform also?" Chris nodded. "Are you going to become the Master Emerald permanently, or will it be temporary?"

"Temporary. I like this human form."

"And the others?"

Chris looked at them. "Permanent, I think."

Crimson nodded. "How come?"

"Why not?" Chris asked.

Crimson looked at the others. "What do you guys think about it?"

Damon shrugged. "We've been human for at least sixteen years. Perhaps it's time to become Chaos Emeralds again."

The others agreed with him and Crimson looked back at Chris. "Very well, Master Emerald," he said. "We'll become the Chaos Emeralds once again."

Chris nodded and spoke. "Let's do it, then."

He cast a spell on the humans and they began to transform. They all grew smaller and changed in color. Their legs came together to points as their skin turned crystal. Their bodies came together to form a gemstone and hardened to a full crystal. Minutes later, seven Chaos Emeralds floated in the air. Chris smiled and transformed also as Angel Island began to rise into the sky. The three hedgehogs looked around as the land rose.

"So, what now?" Sonic asked the Master Emerald.

_Now, I'll see if I can figure out where our drained power is going._

Sonic nodded as the Master Emerald began to hover in the air. It glowed brightly as the seven Chaos Emeralds circled it, glowing as well. The hedgehog watched as the glow grew larger and the energy reached out farther.

"What's it doing?" Sonic asked Shadow.

"I believe it's using the massive energy to find out where the energy is being taken. If we follow that, we'll find the source of the problem."

"Let's go, then."

Shadow looked at Silver and the two nodded, then they teleported off of the island. "Which way?" Silver asked.

"Follow me," Shadow said. He sensed the Chaos Energy, and ran off.


	6. Eggman

Chapter 6: Eggman

Sonic and Silver followed him. Shadow kept pausing to make sure he was still on the right track as they ran.

"Where are we going?" Sonic asked him. "I can sense the energy also; it's massive."

"I'd imagine it's some kind of power plant," Shadow said.

"It's Eggman's."

"I wonder how big it is."

The three hedgehogs followed the energy and soon came to a large power plant. Their eyes widened as they looked at it.

"What do we do?" Sonic said, looking at the others. "This is enormous."

"There has to be something..." Silver started thinking about it.

Suddenly, an explosion knocked them to the ground. They groaned in pain as Eggman appeared. He looked at them curiously. "What are you three doing here?"

They looked at him. "We were investigating why the Chaos Emerald's power is vanishing," Sonic said.

Eggman grinned. He didn't know who these three were, but he knew they were on to him. "And how did you find this plant?"

Shadow looked at Sonic and Silver, then back to Eggman. "We followed Chaos Energy to it."

Eggman frowned. "If you are thinking of stopping me..."

"What are you going to do?" Sonic asked.

The mad scientist thought about it. "I'll stop you, of course. But how do I know you are a threat or not?"

The hedgehogs looked at each other. They weren't sure how to answer that. "You don't," Sonic finally answered. "We just came to investigate, nothing more."

Eggman hesitated, and then nodded. "Alright. I'll believe you for now."

They nodded and continued on their way. Once they were out of Eggman's sight, the three hedgehogs looked at each other. "We're going to have to face him eventually if he is the one behind this," Sonic told them.

"He doesn't look all that dangerous. But it's best not to underestimate him."

"Is he like the one from our dimension?" Silver asked.

"Who knows." Sonic shrugged.

They nodded and noticed the sun come up, then groaned in pain as they ran back to their house, transforming as they did so. The three hedgehogs sighed as the sun rose. It was time to change back again. All three winced as their tails retracted into their bodies. Silver opened his mouth to say something, gasping in pain instead as his face started changing. Both cheeks grew smaller as a human chin took form from the one he had. On all three of them, their slender black noses shortened and changed into human noses. All six ears moved to the sides of their heads before changing shape. Shadow looked at the other two as their quills divided and split into hair. Silver's ran down the length of his back, bangs falling into his face. Sonic started laughing at him, but fell silent as he felt his own turn into a mane of hair identical to Shadow's. The fur covering their bodies shortened as it turned into hair. Shadow looked at himself as his body became more human, growing larger as well. Their eyes changed to a human's, moving where they were placed on their faces as they grew smaller. Shade and Silvond both had make-up around their eyes. Maurice smiled at them.

"Where are we?" Maurice asked. He didn't recognize the place they were at.

Silvond looked around. "I'm not sure. Did we transform last night?"

"I think so."

"Wish we could remember."

"Remembering would be nice."

The human nodded and they went back to their house. "Maybe we could write a note to our other selves?" Silvond suggested.

Maurice smiled. "Sure. Like what?"

"Maybe..." Silvond shrugged. "I don't know."

"How about we ask why we can't remember and who they are," Maurice said.

"Can we ask them about themselves, as well?" Shade asked. "I wouldn't mind seeing how different we are."

"I suppose."

The brothers smiled and began to write. "What are you like?" Shade wrote.

"Why can't we remember?" Maurice wrote.

"I wanna see a picture of you guys," Silvond wrote. Once they were finished, the three brothers read the notes and smiled. "This sounds good. It just needs a signature so they know it was us."

The others nodded and they left. The day was nice, since it was a weekend. "What should we do first?" Silvond asked.

"How about we go see a movie?" Maurice asked.

"Sounds good."

Shade smiled. A few minutes later he saw Chris run up to them. "Hey," he said. "What are you three doing?"

"Going to the movies."

"Mind if I join you?"

"It's fine with me," Maurice said. "What about you guys?"

"Sure," Shade said.

Silvond nodded, and Chris smiled. The Master Emerald had just turned back into its human form after it had found the source of the drained energy, and it wanted some company. It smiled and followed the three brothers.

"So, where are the others?" Shade asked Chris.

It looked at him. "I'm not sure. I think they went to Angel Island."

"I've heard of that place; it's supposed to be pretty cool," Silvond said.

Chris smiled and nodded. It continued to follow them, wondering if it should ask them about their other selves or not. Chris looked at the selection of movies when they arrived. They eventually picked one and walked inside, then sat down in the theater as the film began. The three humans looked at Chris, sensing the Chaos Energy that it had. Chris was staring at the screen, interested in the movie. The three brothers watched it also.


	7. Chris Finds Out

Chapter 7: Chris Finds Out

When it was over, they left the theater. "That was a good movie," Chris said. "Why were you looking at me weirdly?"

"You have a lot of Chaos Energy," Shade said.

The Master Emerald nodded. "I do," it said.

"We were wondering why."

"Um...that's not important right now."

Maurice looked at it. "Why not?"

"It just isn't." Chris shook his head, and smiled. "Why don't we spend some time together?"

"We'd like that," Shade said.

Chris returned their smiles. It looked around as it sensed their energy also. "The three of you have quite a bit of Chaos Energy yourselves."

"We know," Maurice said.

"Can you use it for anything?"

"We're not sure."

The Master Emerald smiled as it looked at him. "I can help you learn how to, if you're interested."

Maurice smiled. "Sure."

Chris smiled at them. It nodded and followed the brothers to their house. Chris' suspicions about them were growing. "Do you want to learn now or later?"

"How about now?" Silvond asked it.

Chris nodded. It focused its Chaos Powers and looked at them. "You can sense your own energy, so you need to focus on them." They nodded and concentrated. Chris smiled as it looked at them. "Once you have done that, focus on letting it out of your body." Shade's eyes snapped open as he used a Chaos Spear. Chris smiled as the spear pierced into the wall. "Great job," it told him. Shade looked over and smiled. The three continued to practice until they noticed it was getting dark. Chris looked at them. "I suppose I should go soon."

You should. We'll see you later."

Chris smiled and left. A few minutes later, the sun went down and it heard screams coming from the house. Chris ran back in and looked around. The Master Emerald's eyes widened in shock as it saw the three humans transform. He blinked in surprise as three hedgehogs were standing in front of him.

"What the..." It said, surprised and confused.

The hedgehogs looked over at him. Sonic looked at him curiously and spoke. "What are you doing here?"

"I...I was walking past and I heard screams, then ran inside and saw you three...change..." Chris said.

"Change?"

"When I walked in, you three were humans, transforming into hedgehogs."

"That's strange." Sonic looked at the other two.

They nodded. Sonic sighed and walked around. He saw a note and picked it up, then read it.

"What's that?" Shadow asked him.

"A note. It's asking about us."

"What does it say?" Chris asked as it looked at Sonic. "Who's it by?"

"It's signed by Shade, Silvond, and Maurice."

"Who are they?" Silvond asked.

Chris spoke up. "They're your human forms."

The three hedgehogs nodded and wrote back. Chris smiled as he watched them.

"You seem to know about our human forms," Shadow told Chris.

The Master Emerald smiled as it nodded. "I do know them."

"How?"

"They go to school with me."

Sonic nodded. "Have you told them what you are?"

It shook its head. "No, I haven't."

"Why not?"

"I don't think I need to yet."

Shadow spoke then. "Did you know that they could transform into us? You looked pretty shocked when we saw you, so I assume that you didn't know."

"I didn't."

"How come? The others did."

Chris shrugged. "I'm not sure," it told them. "But at least I know now."

"That's true."

The Master Emerald smiled as it looked at the three hedgehogs. "So, what did you three find out about our energy being drained?"

"We believe it's Eggman. We followed the energy back to one of his plants," Shadow said.

Chris nodded. "What are you going to do?"

Shadow looked at Sonic and Silver. "We're going to keep an eye on him," he said, looking back at Chris.

The Master Emerald smiled as it nodded. "That sounds like a great plan."

"Indeed it does."

Chris nodded and walked off to Angel island as the three hedgehogs followed it. Once there, it became a large green emerald. They waited for what the emerald wanted them to do.

_Go to the base but make sure Eggman doesn't see you,_ it said telepathically. _Take Crimson with you._

Crimson appeared in front of them. The red Chaos Emerald glowed, and Shadow grabbed it.

"We'll use it well," he said.

The Master Emerald glowed, and the three teleported off of the island.


	8. The Artificial Intelligence

Chapter 8: The Artificial Intelligence 

Once they appeared at the base, they looked around. "Should we find the main computer?" Shadow asked. "He's got to have one in here somewhere."

"Let's do that," Sonic said. "Come on." They raced into Eggman's base and looked around, making sure not to be seen. It was a while before they finally found what they were looking for. "Here it is," Sonic said. "What now?"

The red Chaos Emerald that was Crimson floated towards the computer and it glowed brightly. They watched it as it disrupted with the security and activated the computer. The hedgehogs walked over to the computer.

"Now what?" Sonic asked the emerald.

"I assume we look through the files," Shadow said.

"I wasn't asking you," Sonic smirked.

Shadow chuckled and nodded as Silver began to look through the computer files. "What are we looking for? He has a ton of blueprints, files on places and people, and other stuff."

"Just take all of them," Sonic said.

"Okay." Silver nodded. "What do you want me to put them on?"

Crimson glowed. _Your mind._

Silver looked confused until the Chaos Emerald flashed, and the psychic could feel his body being transferred into the computer. Silver looked around the strange space in shock.

"What did you do?" He asked the Chaos Emerald.

_I put you into the computer. Just touch all of the files, and they should be absorbed into you._

Silver nodded and did so. "You've made me an artificial intelligence? That's awesome. Why, though?"

_So you can store the information from the computer._

The artificial intelligence nodded as it appeared in a holographic form, looking at the two hedgehogs. "The Chaos Emerald has made me an artificial intelligence," it told them.

"Did you find anything in there?"

"I did. All of the information is now in me."

Sonic smiled. "What are you going to do now?" It asked. "Stay there?"

It nodded. "For now."

"What can you do in that form?" Shadow asked it.

"Interact with anything inside the computer."

"Can you enter other electronics?"

The artificial intelligence nodded again as it flickered from the computer and digitally hopped to another one. They watched it do so, amazed at its powers.

"That's amazing. We could definitely use something like that."

The AI smiled and vanished back into the computer. Shadow and Sonic sighed and walked out of the base.

"I'm guessing it won't change back into its human form as an AI?" Sonic asked Shadow.

"I'm guessing not."

Sonic nodded and they teleported back to Angel island. "We found Eggman's computer," Sonic told the Master Emerald. "Silver transformed into an artificial intelligence and it's in Eggman's computers now."

_He won't be found, will he?_

"No, it won't. The Chaos Emerald made sure of that."

_Why did Crimson turn him into an AI?_ The emerald asked.

"So we could get information out of Eggman's computer."

The Master Emerald turned back into Chris. "That's interesting," it said. "What will happen to it?"

"I don't know. I just hope he comes back."

Chris nodded. "It will be fine, I'm sure."

Sonic looked at him and smiled. "Thanks," he told it. "So, what now? We have plenty of time before day."

"What do you want to do?" Chris laughed.

Shadow smiled at it. "We'll just walked around for a while," he said.

Chris nodded and the three teleported off the island. The red Chaos Emerald floated around them and glowed brightly. Chris looked at it and laughed before turning the emerald back into Crimson.

Crimson smiled at Chris. "Thank you," he told it.

"You're welcome."

The Chaos Emerald nodded and walked off with the hedgehogs. The Master Emerald watched it leave and looked at the others. "What about all of you?"

_Do you want us to change back?_ The Chaos Emeralds asked. _I thought you made these forms permanent._

"I can change you back if you want me to."

They thought about it. _Some of us wouldn't mind._

Chris nodded and changed some of the emeralds into their human forms. They smiled at it and looked at the rest of the Chaos Emeralds. "Let's go."

The humans smiled and left. They went back to their own houses and went to sleep.


	9. Crimson's Origins

Chapter 9: Crimson's Origins  


Meanwhile, Sonic was talking to Crimson about their other forms. "What are our other forms like?"

Crimson looked at them. "They're teenage humans," he said. "Their names are Maurice, Shade and Silvond."

"Do they act the same as we do?"

"Not really."

"How are they different?"

Crimson thought about it. Finally, it told them. "Appearance, and personality."

"How so?" Shadow asked.

"They're more playful, or at least Shade is."

"Interesting. Any other differences?"

Crimson thought about it. "I don't think so," it said.

"What should we do?"

"We could hang out in town. There has to be something to do."

"Sure," Sonic said. "How many hours until sunrise?"

"Four."

"All right. Let's hang out. "

The group went through the city.

"So, why did you and the other Emeralds want to become human?" Shadow asked.

"To see what it's like," Crimson said.

"That was sixteen years ago do, right? Did you grow up normally?"

Crimson nodded. "Yes, we did."

"You must have been babies when you were born, right?"

"We were."

"Who were your parents?"

"Just people willing to take in babies."

Sonic smiled. "Did you remember anything about being Chaos Emeralds when you seven were growing up?"

Crimson shook its head. "We didn't know until much later."

"How much later?"

"Fourteen years, maybe?"

"So, a few years ago. That's pretty amazing. How did you all find out? And what about Chris?"

"Chris is the one who explained it to us."

"Was he human since birth also?"

Crimson shook its head. "No."

"Then how..."

"He is the Master Emerald. I always assumed he just decided to take on that form."

The three hedgehogs nodded; this was very interesting. Crimson smiled at them. "How old are you three?" It asked them.

"In our teens."

"What about you?" Shadow asked Crimson.

"Same as you, as far as everyone else is concerned."

"Everyone else?"

"Everyone that doesn't know we're Chaos Emeralds."

Shadow looked at it. "Are you saying you're not sixteen?"

Crimson chuckled and nodded. "Technically, I'm as old as the Chaos Emeralds."

"That's incredible. How is it you seven became human? And why did you lose your memories as Chaos Emeralds?"

"The Master Emerald made us human. I think he said it was to make protecting us easier."

"It did? When did it make you human?" Sonic asked.

"Fourteen years ago...when we were babies."

"Do you like being human?"

"I know I do. I think it's fun."

"What about your family? Do they like their human forms as well?"

"I know some of them do."

Sonic smiled. "That's great. Do you like your human form or your Chaos Emerald form better?"

"I prefer my human form. I can do more things in it."

They smiled and noticed that the sun was rising. Sonic groaned and began to shake painfully as his body began to grow and morph. Crimson waited while Sonic turned into a human again. It looked at Shadow, watching their transformations in awe. The two hedgehogs were soon human.

"Did we change?" Maurice asked the others in confusion.

"You did," Crimson said. They smiled and ran inside their house, looking at the notes. "What do they say?" The Chaos Emerald asked them.

Maurice read them aloud to the others. "We are anthropomorphic hedgehogs from an alternate Earth. Our names are Sonic, Shadow and Silver." He continued to read. "Silver's a little on the dumb side, but he's really kind and cares about others. Shadow's usually grumpy and doesn't like hanging out with other people. Sonic is the leader, as well as the fastest and gets along easily with others."

Shade smiled. That sounded nothing like them. "So, they really are like different people."

"That's interesting," Maurice said. he held out pictures to his brothers. "This is what they look like."

"The coloring's the same," Shade said.

Maurice agreed. "They're adorable."

"Adorable?" Shade asked, looking at his brother. "What do you mean?"

Maurice blushed in embarrassment. "Well look at them." Maurice motioned to the pictures.

"They look cute."

Crimson laughed and looked at the pictures. "They're pretty short. How tall do you think they are?"

Maurice shrugged while Shade thought about it. "Somewhere around three feet?"

"It's possible. Or they could be five feet tall."

"You sure?"

Crimson shrugged. "I'll ask them later. So, what are you two going to do today?"

"Do we have school?"

"Today's Sunday, remember?" Maurice told Shade.

"Right. What is there to do on Sundays?"

"Do you want to come to my house?" Crimson asked.

"Sure."

Crimson smiled and walked off. Shade and Maurice followed him.

"Do you know where Silvond is?" Maurice asked.

"I do. He's still Silver, currently."

"He is? How come?"

"I had him helping us with Eggman. He's an AI inside Eggman's computer."

"An artificial intelligence?" Shade asked. "That's cool."

"Will he be in that form forever?" Maurice asked.

"Yes," Crimson said.

"Why?"

"He needs to be. The amount of knowledge he's absorbing wouldn't be able to fit in his mind. If would drive him crazy."

"I see," Maurice said. "So we won't see him again?"

"Probably not."

"All right. What's the artificial intelligence doing now? Where is it?"

"Still in Eggman's computers, I believe."

"Can we go see it?" Shade asked.

"You'd have to go to one of Eggman's computers," Crimson said.

"I see. Want to do that?" Maurice asked Shade.

"Sounds like it could be fun."

"Let's go, then," Crimson said. He ran off and the two brothers followed him.


	10. Capturing the Chaos Emerald

Chapter 10: Capturing the Chaos Emerald

They were soon at Eggman's base. The three humans walked inside and looked around. Suddenly, an explosion rang through the air and Eggman appeared. He saw Crimson and grinned.

"So, you've returned."

Crimson looked at him. "What do you want, Eggman?"

"I want to capture you."

Maurice and Shade looked at their uncle. "Why him?"

Eggman looked at Crimson as his grin widened. He fired a laser, and it hit Crimson. The human screamed and began to transform. A few minutes later, he had become a red Chaos Emerald. Maurice and Shade looked at it in shock.

"What have you done to him?" Maurice asked.

"I reverted him back to his true form."

"True form? What are you talking about, uncle?"

"He didn't tell you? Your friend is one of the emeralds I've been looking for."

Maurice and Shade looked confused, and their uncle laughed. "What are you talking about?"

Eggman chuckled. "Have you ever heard of the Chaos Emeralds?"

"Of course. But no one's seen them in years."

"That's because they've turned into humans," Eggman said. "Crimson is one of them."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I've been monitoring them. Also, they have massive amounts of Chaos Energy."

Maurice and Shade looked at each other. They sensed that energy.

"What were you going to use them for, Uncle?" Maurice yelled.

Eggman laughed and looked at Maurice. "I'm going to build Eggmanland and take over the world!"

"That's crazy, uncle."

"What do you expect? I'm an evil genius."

Maurice sighed and shook his head. "We'll stop you," he said in determination.

"Oh?" Eggman looked at him. Maurice looked at Shade. Suddenly, they heard a voice that came from the speakers. It was the artificial intelligence. Eggman whirled around. "What? Who is that?"

"Silver?" Maurice asked.

"It is I," the artificial intelligence said as it appeared on a TV screen.

"What do you want?"

"I already have what I want."

"What do you mean?" Shade asked

"I needed the information, and I got it."

"What are you going to do now, Silver?"

It looked at them. "I haven't decided yet."

Shade chuckled, still noticing his uncle was beside them. "Can you come with us?"

"Of course I can."

They nodded. Eggman chuckled and looked at it. "And how do you plan to do that?"

The artificial intelligence ignored him. Eggman smirked and turned back to Shade and Maurice, then walked away with the Chaos Emerald in hand. They tried to run after him but we're blocked by security.

"Dammit, out of the way!" Maurice said.

The robots started shooting. Maurice growled in anger as Shade used a Chaos Spear to destroy them.

"We need to get Crimson back from our Uncle!" Maurice yelled to Shade.

"I'm trying!" Shade said, throwing another Chaos Spear. "Go; I'll hold them off!"

Maurice nodded and ran after Eggman. His uncle had to be stopped. A few minutes later, he saw Eggman putting the Chaos Emerald into a machine and started it.

"What are you doing?" He asked as energy crackled from the emerald.

Eggman ignored him, focusing on the emerald instead. A bright light shone from the emerald and died down as its energy was drained. The Chaos Emerald turned black and began to crack.

"What are you doing with it?" Maurice yelled.

"I'm taking its energy."

Why?"

"I need all the energy I can get."

Maurice frowned and punched his uncle. Eggman was knocked back as a surprised expression came to his face. "Let Crimson go before I pound you to a pulp!" He yelled as Chaos Energy crackled in his hands.

"I've already taken the power from the emerald."

Maurice looked at it, and then sighed. His uncle chuckled and knocked him to the ground as robots walked inside. The human looked at them and vanished, appearing outside with his brother.

"I lost Crimson," he said.

Shade sighed and brought out a USB that held the AI. "At least we have this."

"Is that Silver?"

"The USB drive that contains it, yes."

Maurice smiled. "Let's bring it back, then."


	11. Aftermath

Chapter 11: Aftermath

Shade smiled and they went back to their house and inserted the AI on their computer. Silver appeared on the screen. "Hello," it said as it materialized itself as a hologram on the desk.

"Hi. What did you learn?" Shade asked it.

"Many things. What Eggman is planning, and what he needs. The information is amazing."

"Can we see it?"

The AI nodded and brought up the information on the computer.

"This is impressive," Maurice said.

"Indeed," Shade said. "Now we know what our uncle is up to." He looked at the artificial intelligence. "Can you change back?"

It closed its eyes and willed itself to change into a hedgehog. In a few minutes, it had succeeded. "I'm here," Silver said. It smiled at them.

"Can you still turn into Silvond?" Maurice asked it. Silver thought again, and took on Silvond's form. It smiled at its brothers and nodded. "It's great to have you back," Maurice said.

"Thank you," Silvond said as it smiled at them. "Being an AI is really interesting."

"How?"

"I can do all kinds of amazing things."

Shade looked at him curiously. "Are you Silver, or Silvond, in mind right now? You seem to remember what Silver did."

"I guess I'm both."

"That's awesome," Maurice said. "Are you able to change at will?"

"I don't see why not."

"How is it you're both Silver and Silvond?" Shade asked him

Silvond shrugged. "I remember things from both of them."

"So, any ideas how we can get Crimson back?"

"Recharge the emerald?"

Shade nodded. "How can we do that, though?"

"I don't know."

The black haired teenager nodded. As the day went on, the three left notes for their alter egos. At night, they transformed. The hedgehogs looked at the paper and smiled.

"Crimson has been taken by Eggman," Silver told them as it walked over to the computer. Closing its eyes, it started to become an artificial intelligence again. Its body went into the computer once it was close enough. Sonic and Shadow smiled and saw its face appear on the screen.

"What can we do?" Sonic asked

"Keep the rest of the emeralds from Eggman."

"How do you like being an AI?" Sonic asked it.

"I like it a lot."

"What can you do as one?"

"I can control technology to some extent, hold a lot more information than before, and probably electrocute someone."

Sonic and Shadow chuckled. "Is it permanent?"

The artificial intelligence nodded. "It is."

"How is it you can change back? Or is that just a hologram?"

"It's a hologram."

Shadow smiled. "That's interesting."

"Thanks."

"We should talk to Chris about this," Sonic said.

Silver nodded. "Go on. I'll wait here."

"Do you want to come?"

It shook its head. "No. Just go without me."

"Where do you think Chris is?" Sonic asked Shadow.

"Probably on Angel Island," Shadow said.

Sonic nodded and they teleported there. Chris was on Angel Island, and smiled when he saw them. "Hi," it said. "What do you two want?"

"We wanted to talk to you about the situation."

"What about it?"

Shadow sighed. "Crimson has been taken by Doctor Eggman."

"What? Is he okay?"

"No, it's not. Eggman has drained its energy in its emerald form."

Chris frowned. It started to pace, and looked at the hedgehogs. "We have to keep the others protected. But two people can't do that without help."

Sonic looked at it. "What do you want us to do?"

"Find people you can trust to help with this."

"But...we can't reveal our secret to just anyone."

"I know. That's why I said people you can trust."

Sonic and Shadow nodded. "What about the other Chaos Emeralds? Are they going to help?"

"Of course."

"All right. Thanks."

The Chaos Emeralds glowed and turned into their human forms. "We'll do what we can to keep ourselves safe."

Chris nodded. "Very well," it said, and looked at the two hedgehogs. "Damson and the others will help you. Keep them safe. I don't want them falling into Eggman's hands. I can tell that he has plans for the city."

"Okay. We'll do what we can."

The Master Emerald in human form smiled as they vanished from Angel Island, watching the island fall to the ground and settle in the middle of the ocean.

"Do you have a house?" Sonic asked.

Chris nodded. "Of course we do."

"Where is it?"

"We'll show you."

Sonic smiled as he and Shadow followed the seven brothers.


	12. Protecting the Emeralds

Chapter 12: Protecting the Emeralds

It took a while, but they reached a mansion and walked inside.

"This is amazing," Sonic said, looking at Chris. "How did you afford this?"

"I'm the Master Emerald, so it wasn't hard to do."

"Do you have any parents, Chris?"

"No, I don't."

Shadow and Sonic nodded and continued to look around.

"Hold old are you in your human form, Chris?" Shadow asked.

"Twenty."

"Nice. Did you grow up like the others also?"

"I did. I was just older than them."

Shadow looked at him. "Did you and the others remember that you were the Master Emerald and the Chaos Emeralds?"

Chris shook its head. "We didn't. Not for a while, anyway."

"How did you all find out what you were?"

"I remember having a dream about it."

"That's interesting," Sonic said.

Chris and the others nodded. "We should be safe here."

"All right. We'll see you later, then."

Damson and the others watched the three hedgehogs leave and went up to their rooms. As Sonic and Shadow walked, they talked about who to tell their secret to.

"Who do you think we can trust?" Shadow asked. "We haven't been here long enough to know anyone that well."

Sonic shrugged. "You're right, we've only been here a few weeks. Maybe we should make some friends at school in our human forms. If they find out about us, we'll have to show them."

Shadow nodded. "That should work."

The two walked back to their house and saw the notes. Maurice was asking how tall they were as hedgehogs. Sonic chuckled and wrote back. "In our dimension, we are five feet three inches. But for some reason in this one, we're only three feet three inches."

"What did they ask?" Shadow asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"How tall we are."

"That's an odd question."

Sonic nodded. "Why do you think we're only three feet tall here?"

Shadow thought about it and then answered "Maybe it's because there aren't any anthros in this dimension."

"That makes sense. Hey, why do you think it's painful when we transform?"

Shadow shrugged. "Who knows."

Sonic chuckled. They walked into the office room and turned on the computer. The artificial intelligence came up on screen as it looked at them.

"Hey," Sonic said. "What have you been doing while we've been gone?"

"Going through the files on the computer," it said.

"Cool. Anything interesting in there?"

"Not really."

Sonic nodded and watched as Silver came out of the computer. Lines of code came together as it formed a small hologram of the AI. It stood on the desk and looked up at them.

"How is everything?"

"We're doing well," Sonic told it. "Shadow and I need to go to school tomorrow as Maurice and Shade. Are you going to come?"

"Maybe."

"Your Silvond form is holographic, right? Is it the same size you are now, or life-size?"

"Any size I want."

Sonic smiled. "You're transparent as a hologram, right? Or can you make yourself solid?"

Silver shook its head. "I can't become solid."

It smiled and sat down, its holographic form flickering a little. Sonic and Shadow smiled at it and yawned, then went to sleep. The next day, Maurice and Shade woke up.

"What time is it?" Shade asked.

Maurice looked at the clock. "Seven AM," he said. "School starts in an hour."

Shade groaned and pushed himself up from the bed. "I'm so tired," he said. "What happened last night? I'm guessing we became hedgehogs again?"

His brother shrugged and they walked out of the room. The AI looked up at them as it saw them walk into the family room. "Good morning," it said.

"Hi," Shade said.

Silver hopped off the desk as it started growing and shifting, turning into a life size hologram of Silvond. It smiled at them. "Are you going to school soon?"

"We are," Maurice told it. "Are you going to come with us?"

"I don't think I can."

"How come?"

Silvond motioned to its holographic transparent body. "I'm not exactly real."

Shade and Maurice blinked, and nodded. "All right," Shade said. He smiled and walked into the kitchen. The artificial intelligence watched them as they ate. It sighed and walked over, sitting down next to them.

"I wish I could interact with things."

"How come? You seem fine with what you are now."

The AI tried to touch Shade but its hand went through his own. "I'm not as fine with it as I might seem. It's upsetting to know I can't truly interact with the two of you anymore."

Maurice sighed. "That makes sense. At least you're still with us, though."

Silvond smiled. "That's true."

The three brothers continued to talk until it was ten till eight.

"We have to get to school," Maurice told the AI. "See you later, Silvond."

It nodded and watched them leave.


	13. New Students

Chapter 13: New Students

When Maurice and Shade were at school, they saw two new students and the teacher introduced them: Miles Prower, and Blaze Caterina. The two smiled at the class and found their seats.

"Hi," Maurice said, introducing himself to Miles. "My name's Maurice Robotnik. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you, as well," Miles said.

Maurice smiled. "This is my brother, Shade."

Shade nodded and shook Miles' hand as Blaze sat next to them.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi," Shade replied. "You're Blaze, right?"

"I am."

"I'm Shade Robotnik. It's nice to meet the both of you. When did you two start school?"

"Just this morning. We moved here from another country."

"Really?" Maurice looked at them in curiosity. "What country?"

Miles spoke up. "Soleanna. Blaze wanted to try school in a different setting."

"Are you two siblings?"

"No, but we did grow up together."

"That's great," Shade said as he looked at the two. "How old are you two?"

"I'm seventeen, and he's fifteen," Blaze said.

"Maurice and I are fifteen and eighteen."

Blaze smiled at the two of them. As class went on, Blaze and Tails noticed something strange about the two brothers. There was an air about them that they couldn't quite figure out. Blaze could feel the energy radiating off of them, and thought to herself.

"Can you feel that?" She asked Miles.

Miles looked over at her. "What?"

"The energy from those two."

Miles looked over at them. "Not really an energy, but I feel something."

Blaze looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"Like they're...different. Not really human."

"Not human?"

"Yeah. I don't know what it is, though."

Blaze looked at the two brothers. "Interesting," she said.

Miles thought about for a few more minutes before shrugging and getting back to work.

The day went on, and Blaze, along with Miles, hung out with Maurice and Shade at lunch. They talked to each other and Maurice introduced the new students to their other friends. The others were glad to meet them, as well.

"It's nice to meet you," Chris said, shaking their hands. Blaze and Miles were smiling as they sat at the table with them. "So, you two mentioned you used to live in Soleanna. What was it like there?"

"There's a lot of water and forests," Blaze said. Chris smiled and shook her hand. He got a shock and grimaced, then pulled his hand back, his eyes wide. "Are you okay?" Blaze asked.

The teenager shook his head, looking at her suspiciously. He then saw something glow in her backpack. "What's that?" he asked.

Blaze looked in her backpack. "It's nothing," she said, zipping it shut. "Jut a family heirloom."

Chris looked at her, raising a brow slightly. "Well," he said, standing up as the others did also. "It was nice to meet you two." Leaning over to Maurice, he whispered, "Meet me in the quad after school with Shade. We need to talk."

Maurice was confused, but nodded. They walked off, and Blaze, along with Miles, looked at Shade and Maurice in confusion.

"You have interesting friends," she told them.

Maurice smiled. "They're fun to be around."

Blaze nodded and the bell rang for their next class. Miles and Blaze walked off as Maurice looked at Shade. "Chris wants us to meet him after school. He says we need to talk about something."

"I wonder what for," Shade mused, but nodded. "All right. Let's head to class."

Maurice smiled, and they did so. After school, they went to meet with Chris. "So," Maurice said. "What do you want to talk about?"

"The new students," Chris said.

"What about them?"

"There's something about them..."

"Really? They said that about us also," Shade said.

"Blaze has a Sol Emerald. I think the two of them might be guardians, as well."

"Guardians? Of what? And what's a Sol Emerald?"

"Sol Emeralds are basically the same as Chaos Emeralds. Just without human forms. If I'm right, those two are supposed to protect them."

Maurice and Shade smirked. That was very interesting.

"So...what do we do?" Damson asked Chris, who turned and looked at him.

"We watch them, of course."

"Should we wait to ask if they want to help us?" Maurice asked.

Chris nodded. "Yes, we should wait."

Maurice and Shade smiled and walked home, Meanwhile, Blaze and Tails were at their own house, thinking about Maurice, Shade and their friends.

"What do you think?" Miles asked.

"They are interesting people," Blaze said. "Especially Chris. When I touched him, I sensed the Chaos Energy that he had, and he mine. He saw the Sol Emerald that I had also. What do you think about Maurice and Shade?"

"I think they seem like really nice people."

"They are indeed. But you said something about them not being human?"

"Yeah. There's something about them that doesn't seem human. I can't figure out what it is, though."

Blaze nodded. "That's interesting. We'll have to figure out what it is."

Miles smiled. "Of course, Princess. Any way we can find out?"

"Talking to them would be the direct way, but I doubt they would be truthful."

"We could spy on them."

Blaze nodded. "I feel a little bad about doing that to them, but that would be the best choice."

Miles sighed. "All right, then. We'll do that."

The female smiled and got back to her homework.


	14. Suspicions

Chapter 14: Suspicions

The month passed, and nothing out of the ordinary happened. Eggman was lying low, and Chris, along with Maurice and Shade, were trying to get Criimson back. Blaze and Miles were also investigating them.

"They seem normal enough to me," Blaze said.

Miles shrugged. "I don't think so," he said.

"What makes you say that?"

"I can just tell."

Blaze sighed. She looked at the Sol Emerald that she had, and put it in her pocket. "We'll talk to them about it tomorrow at school."

Miles nodded. "How are we going to do it?"

"We'll ask them directly."

"Okay."

Blaze smiled and nodded as the two walked inside their house. Meanwhile, Maurice and Shade were at their house also, looking at the holographic AI. It was shrinking, and looked at them once it reached its normal size.

"I still can't find Eggman."

"Did he flee his base?" Maurice asked it.

"He may have."

"Damn it! We have to find him! He still has Crimson, and could be..."

An explosion rang out through the city. The three looked in the direction they had heard the explosion as another one went off. Eggman was laughing, and firing a laser that was destroying the city.

"We need to stop him," Shade growled.

"Uncle, what are you doing now?" Maurice asked, shaking his head. He looked at the artificial intelligence as it spoke.

"Take me with you," it said. "I can hack into the laser and stop it while you create a distraction."

"Alright." Maurice nodded.

The AI vanished into the USB drive and Maurice took it. The two humans ran out the door and downtown to their uncle. They didn't notice Blaze and Miles following them.

"Uncle!" Maurice yelled. "What are you doing?"

"I'm destroying the city," Eggman told them. "What does it look like I'm doing? When it's destroyed, I'll build Eggmanland in its place."

"Eggmanland?" Maurice looked at Shade.

Shade sighed and shook his head, then launched a Chaos Spear at the laser. Maurice ran behind and plugged the AI into it as his hands crackled with Chaos Energy.

Blaze and Miles gasped in shock. "You're right," Blaze told him. "They're not normal. No ordinary human can perform those kinds of attacks."

"Maybe they're vampires or something?" Miles asked.

"Vampires? What makes you think that? If they were vampires, they wouldn't be able to come out in the day."

"Oh yeah...well, they have to be some kind of supernatural being."

Blaze nodded and continued to watch the fight. Eggman started yelling at his nephews, attacking the two of them with his robots as the laser stopped working.

Shade chuckled. "Chaos Spear!" He yelled, throwing another Chaos attack at the robot, allowing it to blow up. Maurice was also helping.

Eggman screamed in frustration. "You've won for now," he said. "But I will return!"

He flew of as the artificial intelligence materialized in the street, turning into a life-size hologram of Silvond. Blaze and Miles gasped in shock from their hiding spot.

"We did it, guys!" Silvond exclaimed. "I think I know where his newest base is, too."

"Where?" Maurice asked it.

"In the arctic."

"Great," Shade said. "How the hell are we going to get there?"

Maurice shrugged. "Take time off school, and get a ride in a plane?"

"That will work," Silvond said as it smiled at them. "Let's leave in a few days."

Maurice and Shade both smiled and nodded as well. They left to go home, and Blaze and Miles looked at each other, shocked. "We definitely have to talk to them."

Miles nodded. "Tomorrow," he said, and they ran back to their own house.

Maurice looked at Shade once they were home. "How are we going to get on a plane bringing us to the arctic?"

Shade shrugged, but the artificial intelligence chuckled and smirked. The teenager looked at it. "What?"

"I can handle that," it said.

"How?"

It smiled as it walked into the backyard. A few minutes later, its form began to change. Once it was done a few minutes later, there was a plane in its place.

Shade chuckled. "Amazing," he said, running his hands along it. "How did you manage to do this?"

"I just willed myself to form a material body around myself as I spread out."

"That's awesome. But I thought you couldn't become solid."

"I've been experimenting with it for a while."

Shade smiled. "That's interesting. Does that mean you can become solid as Silver or Silvond?"

"No. Just other forms. With a little more practice, I should be able to get you to the arctic," it said.

"Okay. How long can you stay in that form?"

"An hour, right now."

Shade smiled and walked inside, leaving the plane in the backyard. It turned on and moved itself into the garage.

"Come in when you change back," Maurice said..

The plane said nothing and turned itself off. Maurice and Shade smiled at it and looked at each other.

"How long do you think it will take to get to the arctic?" Shade asked his brother.

"A few hours, at least."

Shade nodded. They looked outside and saw that it was getting dark. "It would be nice if we could change at will," he said.

"How come?" Maurice asked.

"Then we could decide what we want to look like, rather than being forced to look a certain way."

"That would be nice."

Shade smiled and they groaned in pain as they began to change. The two were hedgehogs again and looked at each other.

"What do you want to do tonight?" Sonic asked Shadow.

"What is there to do?"

Sonic shrugged. "Let's go tell Chris what we're planning to do."

Shadow nodded, and they left. "He should be at the mansion, right?"

"Yeah."

The black and red hedgehog smiled and then the two ran off.


	15. Revealing Identities

Chapter 15: Revealing Identities

Once they got to the mansion, they knocked on the door. Chris opened it and looked at them. "Nice to see you two again." He smiled at them.

"Silver has located Eggman's new base. It's in the arctic," Shadow said.

"The arctic? That's a strange place."

"We know. Sonic and I are going to go there to investigate in our human forms."

"Be careful there."

Shadow nodded. "We will," he said, and walked off, followed by Sonic. The two hedgehogs walked back to their house and saw that the plane was still in the garage. "How long has it been there?"

"Since it transformed," Sonic told Shadow.

Shadow nodded and sighed. "If we were to gain the ability to control our transformations, do you think we would regain our memories from both forms?"

"I think we would."

"I hope so. That would be nice."

Sonic smiled. The two went inside, and fell asleep. In the morning, they woke up in their human forms and got out of bed. Shade stretched and yawned as his stomach growled. He got dressed, then walked out into the kitchen and began to eat. Maurice followed him soon after.

"Did you get your homework done?" Shade asked his brother.

"Most of it."

"I got all of it done. Let's head to school."

Maurice smiled and walked outside. The two saw the plane still in the garage and smiled, then closed the garage door so no one would steal it, and headed to school. School was boring for the most part. They didn't do much, and nothing exciting happened until lunch. Blaze saw Maurice walking down the hallway and grabbed him. "We need to talk," she said. "Something's up with you and your brother."

"What?" Maurice looked at her in surprise. She must have figured it out. "What do you mean?"

"Miles and I saw the battle with Eggman. You and Shade have some kind of power. You can't be normal. You and Shade aren't human!"

Maurice's eyes widened and he sighed. "If you want to know everything, come to our house before sundown."

"Why can't you just explain it?"

"It's not that easy. You'll get your answers tonight, Blaze. Bring Miles along also. Here's our address."

He wrote it down and gave it to Blaze, then hurried off to his next class. Shade was going to kill him when he found out that night. Blaze looked at the address and slipped the paper into her pocket. She nodded, and ran off to see Miles. That night, the two went to Shade and Maurice's house. It was getting dark, and Maurice was outside. He glanced at the sky urgently and invited them in.

Blaze and Miles looked around once they were inside. "This is a nice place you have," Blaze commented.

"Thanks," Maurice said, taking off his shirt and throwing it to the ground. "Shade will be here in a few minutes."

As if on cue, Shade walked in. His eyes widened in shock when he saw the two visitors, and glared at his brother. "What are you doing?"

"Shade...I'm sorry. Blaze confronted me earlier at school today. I think she knows..."

Shade still had a frown as he turned to look at Blaze instead. "What do you know about Maurice and I?" He asked her.

"I know that the two of you definitely are not human," she said.

"Is that so?" Shade asked angrily. He turned back to Maurice and began to yell at him. "How did she find out? Did you tell her something?" Maurice shook his head. "You still shouldn't have let her come here!"

"What's going on?" A robotic voice asked.

Everyone in the room looked over at Silvond. The artificial intelligence was leaning on the door, its holographic, transparent body flickering. It scanned the room as its programming processed the two newcomers.

"Who are our guests?"

"These are Blaze and Miles," Maurice told it.

Blaze looked at the AI. "What are you?"

"I'm an Artificial Intelligence that has taken form as a hologram."

Blaze nodded but Miles was very excited to see it. He loved things that were electronic. He was looking over the hologram, holding back his urge to run over and get a closer look as well as he could. A few minutes later, he did just that. It looked at him.

"This is amazing. I've never seen anything like it." Miles placed his hand over the hologram's chest before it went into the hologram. His eyes widened in shock and he pulled his hand out.

It smiled at him and looked at its brothers. "What were you two yelling about?"

"Maurice brought these two here. We have to change soon."

"The transformation will be in a few minutes," Silvond said as it looked at Maurice. "Why did you bring them here? Chris said..."

"Blaze figured us out. I figured we could trust her."

"And what about Miles?"

"I'm pretty sure we can trust him."

Miles looked at them. "What transformation?"

Shade and Maurice looked outside. "You'll see soon."

A few minutes later, Maurice looked at Blaze. "You told me that we weren't human. Well...you're kind of right."

The sun set, and the two began to transform. Maurice groaned and fell to the floor,holding his head. His hair was fusing together. It puffed out and formed into quills as fur grew out over his body. Maurice shuddered as his body started to warp, the features changing and shrinking. It looked like he was melting. A different form started taking shape. Shade groaned and was starting to change as well. His quills formed in the same manner as Maurice's for a moment before curving upward. Black and red fur covered his body as he started to shrink. Both of them developed a tail as well as small black noses. Their clothes fell off of them as they shrank in height. A few minutes later, two hedgehogs looked at Blaze and Miles.


	16. Explaining the Situation

Chapter 16: Explaining the Situation  


Shadow looked at them. "Who are you?"

"Blaze and Miles. Maurice invited us over," Blaze said.

"They have different memories in both forms," the AI said as it walked up to them. Blaze and Miles gasped in shock as they saw that it too was a hedgehog. "It's some sort of mental change."

"You change along with them?"

It nodded, its holographic body shimmering. "Yes, but I can also change at will. Also, I have memories from both forms because I'm an artificial intelligence."

"So you're how they know what's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"If they don't remember anything, you must be there way of knowing what's been happening in their other form's lives."

The AI shook its head. "It wasn't me," it said. "Let them explain."

Blaze nodded and looked at the other hedgehogs.

"For a while, we didn't even bother with knowing what was going on with our other forms," Shadow said.

"When and how did you find out?" Blaze asked.

"Chris told us a month ago."

"Who are you? And how are you hedgehogs?"

"I'm Sonic, and this is Shadow. We actually came here from another world."

Miles looked at them. "Really? What planet?"

"It's Earth...but it's in another dimension from this one," Sonic said.

"That's interesting. How long have you been here?"

"Not that long..." Sonic looked at Shadow. "How long has it been?"

"A month," Shadow said.

"How do you like it here, compared to your Earth?" Miles asked.

"This Earth is pretty cool. We like it."

Blaze smiled. "Are there any big differences?"

Shadow shook his head. "Not really."

"Do you want us to do anything now that we know your secret?" Miles asked.

Shadow looked at Sonic. "You could help us with something," Sonic said.

"With what?" Blaze asked him.

"Protecting the Chaos Emeralds."

"We already protect the Sol Emeralds. Where are the Chaos Emeralds?"

"At home..." Sonic bit his lip for a moment as he made a decision. "We'll show you."

They nodded. Sonic and Shadow left as Miles looked at the AI. "Are you coming?" He asked it.

It shook its head. "No, I think I'll stay here."

Miles smiled and left with the others. The AI smiled and waved as they left. Once they left, the four walked to Chris' house. Sonic knocked on the door and Chris opened it.

"Hey, guys." Chris looked at Blaze and Miles.

Blaze looked at him. "Hi," she said.

Sonic cut in and spoke to him. "Blaze figured out our secret, so I thought we could trust her with the rest of it."

Chris nodded. "You know about the Chaos Emeralds?" He asked Blaze.

"Only that they're here, apparently."

"What if I were to tell you that we are the Chaos Emeralds?"

Blaze's eyes widened. "You're the Chaos Emeralds? How?"

Chris smiled and led them into the house as she saw the others. "We can take human form," Chris said. "I'm the Master Emerald."

Blaze immediately gave him a small bow. "I'm honored to be in your presence," she said.

"There's no need for that," Chris laughed.

"If anything, we should be bowing to you, Princess," Ivory said.

Blaze blushed a little and shook her head. "No, that's not necessary either."

Sonic and Shadow looked at her. "You're a Princess?" Shadow asked, surprised

"Yes, I am."

"That's cool. Of what?"

"Soleanna."

Shadow smiled. "One of the Chaos Emeralds, Crimson, has been captured by Doctor Eggman. Would you and Miles like to help us?"

"Of course. We would love to help."

"Thanks. His new base is in the Arctic. We're heading there in a few days."

"That's a cold place for someone like him to be," Miles said. "What do we have to bring?"

"Anything you can," Sonic said.

Miles nodded. "Okay. What are the emeralds going to do?"

Sonic and Shadow looked at Chris. "I think we're just going to stay here for now. Unless you want one of us to go with you."

"That's okay. We can handle ourselves," Chris told them. He smiled and watched them leave. Then, he turned back to the others. "What do you guys think?"

"We'll stay here," Damson said.

"I hope they don't run into too much trouble along the way," Chris said.


	17. A Flight in the Tornado

Chapter 17: A Flight in the Tornado

Once Sonic and Shadow were back at the house, they looked at Blaze and Miles. "Are you sure you want to come with us?"

"We are," Blaze said. "How are we going to get there?"

The AI walked up. "I'm going to bring us there."

"How?"

"I can take on the form of a plane."

Miles ' eyes widened. "That's awesome!"

The AI grinned. "Thank you, Miles."

"What other forms can you take?"

"As many as I want."

Miles smiled. "Can I be the pilot when you turn into a plane?"

"If you want to." The AI smiled at Miles.

He nodded and looked at it. "Who created you?"

"Crimson did, sort of."

"Who's Crimson?" Blaze asked.

"One of the Chaos Emeralds. It's the one Eggman has."

"It created you?" Miles asked.

The artificial intelligence nodded. "Yes, when we were in Eggman's base."

"That's cool."

The hedgehog smiled at him as it looked at Sonic and Shadow. "I think Miles and I should practice."

They nodded and watched it walked outside. Tails followed the artificial intelligence as it stopped in the garage. Facing Miles, it smiled and groaned in pain.

"What's wrong?" Miles asked.

"I'm transforming," it said, and began to change into a plane. "It's pretty painful."

"Even though you're an artificial intelligence?" It nodded as Miles watched it transform. "This is incredible," Miles said. He went over and placed a hand on the plane. A smile came to his face and he got inside the cockpit. "You need a name," he said. "How about the Tornado?"

Of course, the plane said nothing. Tails ran a hand along the controls of the plane. He started it up as it left the garage, then flew into the air. It didn't take long for Miles to figure out what each of the buttons did, and he was soon flying over the town.

"This is incredible," he said. "Can you speak in this form?" It said nothing. "Come on, you can't form a hologram or anything?"

The plane was silent. Miles shrugged, taking that as a no, and continued to fly. A few hours later, he had landed at the airport in Soleanna and looked around with a smile on his face. The teenager got out of the Tornado and saw the palace nearby.

"I wonder if I can just go for a visit." Miles looked at the plane. "Change back and come with me."

It did so. A few minutes later, the AI stood there in its holographic form. "I'm not sure that's a good idea," it said. "Look at me."

"It's not that bad."

"I'm not real. What would people say if they saw a transparent, holographic artificial intelligence walking around?"

Miles shrugged. "You'd be with me, so they wouldn't find it too strange."

It hesitated. "Okay."

Miles smiled as they walked. "How come you can't talk as a plane or form a small hologram of yourself?"

"I'm focusing all of my energy keeping the plane together."

"That makes sense. Did you like the name I gave you?"

The AI smiled and nodded. "I do. What made you decide on Tornado?"

"It's just the first thing that popped in my head. I remember hearing it from somewhere."

"I see. That's interesting."

The two walked around for a while until Silver became the Tornado again. They reached the house and the plane went into the garage as Blaze walked up.

"We're leaving tomorrow to go to the arctic with Maurice and Shade," she told Miles.

"Tomorrow?" Miles nodded. "Okay. I'll be ready."

Blaze smiled, and the two left for home.


	18. Eggman's Arctic Base

Chapter 18: Eggman's Arctic Base

The next day, Maurice and Shade were waiting for them in front of the garage. Maurice smiled when he saw the two of them.

"Hi," he said, smiling. "What's up?"

"Is it time to go yet?" Blaze asked.

"It is," Shade said. He opened the garage door. "I'd like to introduce the Tornado."

They walked inside and gasped; the biplane was completely redone. It was a red vintage-style airplane with seats inside, and the two wings had tips of silver at the end. A few logos were on its tail and wings also, as well as the side.

"This is amazing!" Miles shouted. He ran forward and admired it before turning back to the others. "What about Silver?"

"This is Silver," Maurice said.

"I know. I was just wondering if we could see him anymore."

"I'm not sure. Probably not."

Miles nodded and got in the pilot's seat as the others got in after him. "Everyone ready?" He asked.

They nodded, and Miles started the engine. A few minutes later, the Tornado was in the air.

"How long will it take to get to the Arctic?" Blaze asked Maurice.

"A few hours."

Blaze smiled and they flew on. They finally got to the arctic a few hours later and Miles looked at the others. "Where should I land?"

"How about near that igloo," Shade said.

Miles nodded and landed the airplane. They all go out and saw the base in the distance.

"Still a while until we get there," Shade said.

"We can teleport there," Maurice said. "Shade, can't you use Chaos Control?"

"Yes, I could." Shade nodded.

"All right. Go ahead."

Shade nodded and used a Chaos Control. In seconds, they were at the base.

"That's cool," Miles told him.

"Thanks." Shade smiled.

"How are you able to do that?"

"It comes from my other form."

Miles smiled. "How long have you and your brother lived in Station Square?"

"A few months, maybe."

"Where did the two of you grow up?"

"Different places, for the most part."

Miles was about to ask where when Maurice spoke up. "He lived in the city, while I was out in the middle of nowhere."

"How did the two of you find each other?" Blaze asked him.

Maurice hesitated; he remembered something about a Chaos bond, and another life. "I..." Maurice looked at Shade.

"We don't really know," Shade said. "We...felt...each other through another life. I guess you could say that it was some sort of bond."

"What do you mean by another life?" Miles asked.

"I'm not sure how to explain it."

They nodded and followed Shade inside, looking around.

"Be on the lookout for Eggman and his robots," he told Blaze and Miles.

"We will."

Shade and Maurice lead the way, but then groaned in pain as they changed into Shadow and Sonic. The two hedgehogs looked around once the transformation had completed.

"Let's go," Sonic said with a cocky grin, and ran down the hallway. Shadow sighed and shook his head.

Looking at the humans, he motioned for them to follow. They followed the hedgehog silently, and saw the Chaos Emerald inside a machine. It was drained of its power, and it had faded to a dull black color. Shadow could see that it was cracking also.

"He's going to destroy it," he said.

"What can we do?" Sonic asked the other hedgehog. "It's already cracking."

"Get it out of that first. We can think about how to fix it after."

Sonic nodded. He punched the glass and took the emerald out. Suddenly, alarms blared and everyone looked at each other. "Let's get out of here," Sonic said, and sped towards the exit.

"Sonic!" Shadow yelled. He looked at the humans. "Come on, we have to go."

The three ran after Sonic as fast as they could. They reached the exit, but were stopped by Doctor Eggman and many robots. "What are you rats doing here?" He asked Sonic and Shadow. "Hand over the Chaos Emerald now."

Sonic moved the emerald away from Eggman. "No."

Eggman chuckled. "Very well."

A laser came out of a robot and shot Sonic. He screamed in pain and fell to the floor, unconscious, then turned back into a human. Eggman was shocked, and then laughed.

"Well, this is a surprise."

He turned the laser to Shadow and fired but the hedgehog dodged it. Shadow moved to Sonic and knelt beside him. Another shot forced him to dodge away again.

"Damn," he said. He looked back at Maurice, but the laser hit him also and he transformed back into Shade. Eggman chuckled and had the robots take them away, then looked at Blaze and Miles. He ignored them and let them leave; he had what he wanted.


	19. A Rescue Mision

Chapter 19: A Rescue Mission

Blaze smiled and brought the Chaos Emerald out as they ran back to the plane. "What are we going to do about Maurice and Shade?" She asked Miles.

"Find a way to get them back?" Miles suggested.

"Yes, but how?"

The Chaos Emerald's vice was weak, but it spoke in their heads._ Bring me back to the others._

They nodded and got in the plane, then flew off. A few hours later, they reached Station Square and landed the Tornado in Maurice and Shade's house, then ran off to Chris' house. Chris was outside the house when they got there.

"We have it," Blaze said, tossing the emerald to Chris, who caught it. "But Maurice and Shade have been captured by Doctor Eggman. The Chaos Emerald said that it could get them back somehow."

Chris nodded and looked down at the emerald. "I'll get it recharged first."

It transformed into the Master Emerald and let out a bright glow. The smaller Chaos Emerald began to glow as its color brightened. It healed itself also and turned into Crimson as Chris became human again. Crimson smiled and looked at the two humans.

"You said you had an idea to get them back?" Blaze asked it.

"Yes, I do."

"And what idea is that?" Miles asked Crimson, who smiled.

It cleared its throat and told them. "I was thinking maybe if the two of you became anthros, it would make this easier."

"Possibly. How would it make this easier?"

"You would be able to do different things in those forms."

"How will this help us rescue Maurice and Shade?" Blaze asked it.

"It should make it easier for the two of you to get into the base and take care of the robots," Crimson said.

"All right, then; go ahead and change us. Is it going to be permanent, or temporary?"

"I'll try to make it so you can switch freely, but I don't know how well I can do that."

Crimson transformed itself back into a Chaos Emerald. It glowed brightly, and then sent Chaos Energy into the two humans. They groaned in pain and began to transform. Fur was the first thing to change, growing over their bodies in place of the short hair they had. The fur ran down the length of their bodies, growing out and covering the skin. Both of them felt tails growing out, and looked back at them. Miles was shocked to see that he had two tails, and frowned. Their faces changed, noses extending a little as their ears moved to the top of their heads, becoming triangular. More fur moved out and added to the sides of Blaze's face, curving slightly upward. The two felt their bodies beginning to shrink.

Blaze looked at Miles as their bodies shrank and changed, hers stopping before he did. The two anthros looked at each other and then back to the Chaos Emerald, which transformed back into Crimson.

"What do you think?" It asked them.

"Why do I have two tails?" Miles asked.

"I don't know. It looks nice on you, though, doesn't it, Tails?"

"Yes, it does." Miles looked at his tails and smiled. Then he looked at Crimson. "Why did you call me Tails?"

"Because you have two tails."

The fox thought about it and nodded. "I like it. Call me Tails in this form. So, what do you want us to do?"

"I need you to go back to Eggman's base, so you can get Sonic and Shadow back."

"We'll do that," Blaze said. The two left and went back to Maurice and Shade's house. Tails got in the cockpit and started the plane up as Blaze sat in the back. He started it up and flew off.

"How do you think we're going to get into the base this time?" Tails asked Blaze.

"Not sure," Blaze said. "We'll figure it out."

Tails nodded and sighed. Once they got to the Arctic, the two anthros got out of the Tornado after landing it near the base. They walked inside hesitantly and looked around.

"This isn't going to be easy," Blaze said. "He's bound to have more security this time."

Tails nodded and spun his twin tails as he flew through the base. Blaze ignited fire in her hands and followed him. It didn't take long for robots to start attacking them. They fought through the wave of robots, destroying them. Eventually, they came to a room and saw Shade and Maurice strapped to a table. Blaze and Tails looked at each other. It seemed too easy. They walked forwards and unstrapped the two humans.

"They don't seem to be conscious," Tails said.

Blaze shook her head. She saw a machine and her eyes widened. "Eggman is draining their Chaos Energy," she said

"Draining Chaos Energy? That's possible?"

"He did it to the Chaos Emerald, so yes. What should we do?"

"Destroying the machine is my first idea. But we don't know what will happen to them if we do," Tails said, frowning. He looked at the machine and examined it, then nodded. "If we reverse it, it should give them Chaos Energy."

"That's great," Blaze said. "Go ahead."

Tails was about to when an explosion rang out. They flinched and looked around for the source of the explosion. A few minutes later, Eggman came in. He looked at the two and chuckled.

"I don't recall inviting rats in here," he said.

"We're not rats!" Tails yelled. "I'm a fox and she's a cat."

"What are you doing with their Chaos Energy?" Blaze asked.

"I'm draining it so I can use it to build Eggmanland!"

"Eggmanland? What's Eggmanland?"

The evil scientist chuckled. "It's a place of my own design. A high tech base that I will use to capture people and roboticize them!"

Their eyes widened and they stared at Eggman in surprise. Eggman laughed and destroyed the console. Suddenly, Maurice and Shade began to scream in pain. Tails looked at them as Blaze summoned fireballs.

"What did you do?" She asked Eggman.

"I destroyed the machine. They won't be able to utilize Chaos Energy."

"Are they going to die?" Tails asked.

Eggman chuckled, nodding. "Yes, they are."

Blaze and Tails' eyes widened.

"How long do they have?" Tails shouted.

"Anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of hours. It depends on how much Chaos Energy they have left inside their bodies."

Tails growled. The two anthros took the two humans and ran off.


	20. Chaos Emeralds

Chapter 20: Chaos Emeralds

"We have to get them to Chris and the others," Tails said as they got in the Tornado and started to fly back to Station Square.

"Will we get there in time?"

"I don't know. Are you able to use Chaos Control?"

Blaze thought about it. "I've never tried."

Tails sighed. "We don't have a Chaos Emerald with us, anyway."

Blaze nodded and they flew on. A few hours later, they reached Station Square and landed in front of Chris' house. Tails looked at the two humans. Both of them looked close to death...too close for Tails to feel comfortable. He picked them up and ran inside.

Chris looked at them. "What's happened to them?"

Tails began to sob and told them. "Eggman was draining their Chaos Energy. He destroyed his own machine, but the effects are going to kill them."

Chris' eyes widened and he looked at the two. "They are very close to death. I'm not sure if there's anything I can do."

"Can you at least try?"

The Master Emerald nodded. "The only thing I can think of to save their lives is to transform them into Chaos Emeralds."

"Will it be permanent?" Blaze asked.

"It will."

Blaze and Tails looked at each other, and then back to Chris. "All right," Tails said. "Go ahead."

Chris nodded and looked back at the humans. He sighed and closed his eyes, sending Chaos Energy into them. Shade and Maurice were lifted into the air as they began to transform. The two became Chaos Emeralds and lowered to the floor. Chris smiled. He picked them up; they were blue, and red-black colored.

"What are you going to do with them?" Tails asked.

"I'm going to keep them here for now," Chris said.

"Can they turn back into their other forms?"

"They might be able to. For now, they'll be too weak to do much of anything."

Tails and Blaze smiled. "All right," Blaze said. "When will they be at full power again?"

Chris shrugged. "A few days, maybe. I'll let you know when they're charged."

"What will happen to them? Will they stay in those forms forever, or will they change back? You did say something about it being permanent."

"We'll have to wait and see."

Blaze smiled and left with Tails. The two walked past the Robotnik house, and looked at the Tornado.

"It's an amazing plane," Tails said.

"What makes you say that?" Blaze asked the two tailed fox.

"Well, look at it. It's a classic, old vintage-style aircraft. But I might be being biased because I love electronics and machines."

"You probably are biased," Blaze laughed.

Tails chuckled and nodded. He walked up to the Tornado, looking at it. "Do you think it will turn back into an artificial intelligence?" He asked Blaze.

"I don't know anything about it," Blaze said.

Tails smiled and walked out of the garage. The two walked home and the fox looked at the cat. "What do you think of being an anthro cat?" He asked her.

"It's interesting." Blaze looked at herself and nodded. "I'm more flexible than I used to be."

"I agree," Tails said, looking down at his new body. "It's kind of weird how I'm naked, though, and you're not."

Blaze looked at the difference in their clothing as well. Then, she shrugged. "I probably could be, if I wanted to."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I have fur covering my entire body under my clothing, just like you do."

Tails shrugged. "Yeah, but at least you're fully clothed. All I have on are gloves and shoes. So did Sonic, Shadow and Silver."

"Maybe it's just a thing where they're from."

"I guess. It's interesting nonetheless. Do you think we can change back or are we like this permanently?"

"I hope we can change back. It would be easier to go to school as humans."

The fox chuckled. "It would. So, what should we do now?"

"Get some sleep. We can talk to Chris later about changing into humans again."

The two anthros smiled at each other, and went to bed. The next day, they woke up and walked back to Chris' house. The Master Emerald opened the door and smiled.

"Hi," Tails said. "How are the two emeralds doing?"

"They're doing fine," Chris told him.

"That's great. Hey, Blaze and I were wondering if we can change back into humans, or if we are in these forms permanently."

"Try."

They nodded and closed their eyes, trying to turn back into humans. A few minutes later, they had become human again, fully clothed.

"Nice," Miles said, looking at himself. "But I like being an anthro better."

Blaze nodded and smiled. They walked over to a glass case and saw that the two Chaos Emeralds were inside. "I'm just glad they're okay," Blaze said.

Chris looked at them. He brought the blue emerald out, holding it in his hand. It glowed softly and he looked at the humans. "They should be healed by tomorrow," he said, putting it back in the case.

"Are you going to keep them here after that?"

The teenager thought about it. "That might be best."

"Very well," Blaze said. "What will happen to them, though, in their other forms?"

"I can't say, to be honest."

Miles and Blaze nodded, and walked off.


	21. An Hour as Humans

Chapter 21: An Hour as Humans

Chris looked at the two emeralds as they glowed, and came to a decision. He would have them turn into their other forms at will, but there would be a limit. Chris lay a hand on each emerald and concentrated. A few minutes later, he nodded as the spell took effect. The next day, the two emeralds were healed.

He went over to them and smiled. "You're back to normal, now." They glowed brightly and hovered in the air. "You should be able to take on your previous forms. But it can only be done once every twenty-four hours, and only for one."

_How long do those forms last?_ The blue one asked telepathically.

"Which forms?"

_The hedgehog and human ones. How long can we be in them?_

"An hour." The blue emerald glowed as Chris took it. He looked at it and smiled, then held the other and walked over to Crimson. "What should we do with them?"

Crimson looked at the two Chaos Emeralds. "Keep them safe," it told Chris. "We don't want Eggman getting them."

Chris nodded. "We can keep them here, then."

"Why did you turn them into Chaos Emeralds permanently, anyway? There's already seven of us. They're supposed to help us in their other forms; that's what we sent them here for."

"I couldn't think of anything else to do."

Crimson sighed. "You do know that they're supposed to go back to their dimension after this is all over, right?"

"I do. Don't worry; I'm sure we can think of something."

They walked off. A flash came from the two emeralds and they turned into humans. Maurice looked at Shade. "What do we do now?" He asked his brother.

"I...I'm not entirely sure," Shade said.

"How about we head home for a while?"

Shade nodded and walked up to Chris. "Can we go home for a while?"

"Sure," Chris said. "Just remember that your human forms only last an hour. After that, you'll become Chaos Emeralds again."

"We'll keep it in mind."

Chris smiled and watched the two leave.

As Maurice and Shade walked back to their house, Shade asked, "What do you think of being a Chaos Emerald?"

Maurice looked at his brother. "Boring."

Shade nodded. "It is boring, but I like it also. The power we have is incredible."

"It is. But I still wish I could go do stuff on my own."

"How so?"

"Come on, you know me." Maurice smiled at him. "I always like going and doing stuff." Shade smiled and nodded. They reached their house and went into the garage where the Tornado sat "It's still a plane," Maurice commented.

"Do you think it will change back into an AI?" Shade asked.

Maurice shrugged. The two went to their room and heard a knock on the door. They opened it to see Blaze and Tails, in their anthro forms.

"What are you two doing back here?" Blaze asked. "I thought Chris was keeping you with him."

"We can turn into our human or hedgehog forms once every day for an hour," Shade told them.

"So you decided to come here?"

Maurice nodded and looked at the two. "How did you two become anthros?"

"Chris."

"That's interesting. You two look pretty cool."

Blaze smiled. "Thank you."

"Are you in those forms permanently?"

Tails spoke up. "We can change back to our human forms, but it depends on whether we want to or not."

"I assume you like those forms better?"

"We do, actually."

Shade smiled. "That's great. Why don't you come in? We can visit for a while."

Blaze and Tails nodded and came inside. "So, what do you two think about being Chaos Emeralds?" Tails asked him.

"Maurice thinks it's boring. I don't mind it much."

Tails smiled. "It must be interesting, being one of the most powerful things on Earth."

"It's an amazing feeling, as well."

"That's cool. Do you prefer it over your human or hedgehog forms?"

"I do," Shade said.

Tails and Blaze smiled. The four chatted for a while when the AI walked inside the house. "Hi," it said.

"You're back." Tails smiled over at it.

It nodded. "For now; I'm going to become the Tornado again soon. I just thought I'd come and say hi to my siblings."

"You're staying in that form a lot," Maurice said.

"I like it. It'll become permanent soon, anyway."

"It will? How come?"

"My programming is changing to the Tornado's."

"Interesting. Why is it doing that?" Tails asked it.

The AI shrugged. "I'm not exactly sure. I've been thinking it's because of how often I'm in the form. How long were you going to stay?" It looked at Tails and Blaze as it asked.

"A few hours," Blaze said.

Shade was about to speak when he and Maurice groaned in pain. They were turning back into Chaos Emeralds. The others looked at Maurice and Shade, watching as they transformed into Chaos Emeralds. A few minutes later, two Chaos Emeralds floated in the air.

Tails took one and looked at it. "So this is how you guys look now," he said. The blue emerald glowed. "We'll keep you safe, don't worry."

_Chris said that it will,_ the blue emerald said telepathically as it hovered in the air next to the black/red one.

"Oh. Does that mean you're going back there?"

_Yeah. We'll see you later._

They vanished in a flash of light.

"I wish they could stay here," Tails said.

"Same here," the artificial intelligence said. It then groaned as a pain was felt in its body, and it looked at the others. "I need to turn back also."

"Okay, go ahead."

It smiled and teleported outside. The two watched as it began to turn back into the Tornado. Its body shifted and morphed as lines of code surrounded its growing body. The wings took shape as the body built and grew large enough to support them. The body grew more as it solidified into a plane. Once the outside was complete, everything on the inside started changing as well. The Tornado was soon complete.

Tails walked up to it and looked around at it. "This plane is awesome," he said.

"You really love that thing, don't you?"

"Yeah."

They pushed it into the garage and left for home.


	22. Sonic and Shadow

Chapter 22: Sonic and Shadow

The emeralds reappeared at Chris' house. Chris smiled and grabbed them, looking at Crimson. "They're back," it told Crimson. "What now?"

"Put them somewhere safe, I guess," Crimson replied.

The Master Emerald nodded as it set the two Chaos Emeralds in a case. It looked at Crimson and smiled. "We'll take good care of them," it said.

"Of course we will. But what do we tell everyone at school? They'll be wondering where they went."

"They can become human."

"Only for a short amount of time, though."

"Do you think I should make it longer?"

"If you want to."

Chris thought about it. "How about I extend it for up to six hours?"

"That would work, and I'm sure they would appreciate it."

"I'll do that, then."

"Tomorrow or later today?"

"Tomorrow," Chris said, and walked off. The next day, the two emeralds turned into hedgehogs. Sonic looked at Shadow and smiled. Chris walked up to them. "I have extended the time you can stay in this form or your human one. You can now stay in your other forms for six hours."

"That's nice of you. Thank you," Sonic said.

"You're welcome. What do you want to do now? School starts in an hour."

"Getting ready for it sounds like a good idea." Chris nodded and watched as the two became human. "How much did we miss?" Maurice asked.

"I extended the time you can turn into your other forms," Chris told him. "You can change at will for up to six hours, and have both sets of memories now."

"What about in school?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Homework, lessons... We've been out for a few days."

"You'll have to catch up."

"Can you tell us anything we missed?"

Chris nodded and told them. "Come on. I'll show you my notes." They followed Chris into its room and looked around. Chris walked over to his desk and pulled out his notes from class. "Here," it said, handing notes to them.

Maurice and Shade smiled and sat down to read them. An hour later, they all went to school. Blaze and Miles saw them and smiled.

"The two of you are coming back now?" Miles asked happily.

"Yeah," Maurice said.

"That's good to hear."

The day was uneventful, and Maurice and Shade soon found themselves worrying about how they were going to catch up on their work. As school got out, the two headed home and began to work.

"This is boring," Maurice complained. Shade said nothing, and nodded. They worked for a few more hours until they were all done. "Can we go do something fun now?" Maurice asked.

"Yeah, we can. How long do we have until we become emeralds again?"

Maurice looked at the clock. It had been five hours. "An hour." Shade chuckled. He closed his eyes and began to transform into Shadow. Maurice watched him in curiosity. "Why are you changing?"

"Because," Shade said, his voice getting deeper and more raspy as he did. "I feel like it."

"Guess I will too, then."

The two changed. When they were done, they looked at each other.

"Let's head to Blaze's house," Shadow said, his deep voice completely different from Shade's.

"Why's your voice so different in this form?"

"Yours is also. These are our true forms, remember?"

"Well, yeah. But that doesn't tell me why our voices changed."

Shadow thought about it. "Maybe it's the different bodies."

"That makes sense," Sonic said, smiling at him. "We have both sets of memories now also. So, want to go to Blaze's house?"

"Sounds fun. Let's go."

The two sped out of the house and eventually came to Blaze's. They had fifty minutes until they became Chaos Emeralds again, so that was plenty of time. Shadow knocked on the door and Blaze opened it. The cat smiled.

"Hi," she said. "What are you two doing here?"

"We wanted to spend some time with you guys."

Blaze smiled and led the two hedgehogs inside. Tails saw them also and smiled.

"How long can you stay?" The fox asked.

"About fifty minutes."

Tails smiled at them. "Hey, a few days ago when you were in your human forms, you mentioned the two of you feeling each other in another life. What did you two mean by another life?"

"How do we explain it?" Sonic asked Shadow.

Shadow thought about it and smiled, then told them. "Our human forms are counterparts to our hedgehog forms. The other life is the one in our own dimension."

"So, you're reincarnations?" Blaze asked.

They nodded.

"More or less. Now that Chris made it so we can freely choose our forms, we remember everything, too," Sonic told them.

"That's pretty cool," Tails said. "What about Blaze and I?"

"I don't know."

They smiled. The four friends talked for a while until Shadow and Sonic knew it was time to change.

"We need to go now," Shadow said.

The two hedgehogs said goodbye and ran off, transforming into Chaos Emeralds as they did so. They floated back to Chris' house and went inside. Both of them were soon in their proper places.


	23. Eggmanland

Chapter 23: Eggmanland

The next day, an explosion rang out through the city. Chris hurried outside to see what was happening.

"Damn," it said, turning to Crimson and the others. "It's Eggman again."

"What does he want now?" Crimson asked.

"He wants us," Sonic said, walking up to Chris. "All of us."

"Then we'll have to stop him."

"Shadow and I can do that."

Chris smiled and nodded. "Please do."

The two hedgehogs ran outside and saw Eggman destroying the city with his robots.

"You ready?" Sonic smiled over at Shadow.

"Always," Shadow said, and sped towards the robot.

Sonic smiled and ran forward also. Eggman saw them and grinned. "Back for more? You're never going to beat me. I have a plan that will help me get what I want."Sonic looked at Eggman in suspicion as he attacked the robots.

"What's your plan?" Shadow asked as he attacked also.

"I don't know yet..."

The two hedgehogs scoffed and attacked some more. Eggman glared at them and flew off. A few minutes later, Tails landed the Tornado. "Hop in," he said. "We'll follow him."

Sonic and Shadow nodded and got in. Sonic stood on the wing of the plane as did Shadow, and they followed Eggman. "We need a plan," Shadow told Sonic.

"Eggman said something about building Eggmanland and needing the Chaos Emeralds to do it. He already drained our energy as well as Crimson, so he has a head start. "

"How fast do you think he could assemble all that?"

Sonic shrugged. "No idea."

"In any case, you have to beat him soon," Tails spoke up. They followed Eggman to a large base. "Is that Eggmanland?"

"Must be," Sonic said.

They tried to land the plane near the base, but suddenly, turrets started to fire at them. Sonic grinned. Now is was starting to get fun. "What can you do, Tails?" Shadow asked.

"I upgraded the Tornado with missiles," he said. "I can shoot down the turrets."

"When did you do that?"

"Yesterday," Tails said, smiling.

He fired on the turrets, but one of them hit the plane's upper wing. Tails tried to control the Tornado but it dove down. Shadow and Sonic held on as the plane was crashing. A few minutes later, the plane crashed outside the base. The three anthros got out and looked at it. It was badly damaged, and smoke was coming from its engine.

"Can you fix it?" Shadow asked Tails.

Tails was already climbing onto the wrecked plane to look at the damage. After a few minutes of assessing what had happened, he nodded. "I think I can."

"How bad is the damage?"

"It's pretty bad," Tails said.

Sonic sighed. "How long will it take to repair the plane?"

"A few weeks, if I had all the parts. Which I probably don't." Tails sighed. "I'm sorry, Silver..."

"That's fine," Sonic said. "You stay here and guard the plane. Shadow and I will head into the base and destroy it."

Tails nodded and watched the two hedgehogs leave. He looked at the destroyed airplane and sighed. "I promise I'll get you repaired," he said.

The plane said nothing as Tails sat beside it, waiting for Shadow and Sonic to come back. The two hedgehogs ran through the base. They had do destroy it and get rid of Eggman once and for all.

"You can still use a Chaos Blast, right, Shads?" Sonic asked.

"Of course," Shadow said. "We still have our powers, even in our human forms."

"Good. I was thinking that one would help us a lot once we find the center of his base."

They nodded, fighting robots along the way. It took a while but they finally reached the center. Shadow smirked and began to use Chaos Blast. Sonic made sure the robots couldn't get near him as he charged enough energy for a large blast. A few minutes later, Shadow let out a massive blast of energy, causing the base to explode. They ran out of Eggmanland, but Eggman stopped them just as they ran outside, piloting his Egg Dragoon. Sonic skidded to a halt and glared up at the scientist. they didn't have enough time to deal with him.

"You blew up my base," Eggman said. "It's time for one final battle."

Sonic looked at Shadow and the two nodded to each other. They lunged at the robot and attacked. The Egg Dragoon attacked them as well. Shadow used Chaos Spears on the robot as Sonic did some homing attacks. Eggman yelled in frustration as the pair of hedgehogs damaged his robot. The Egg Dragoon swung its spear, sending out a shockwave that hurt both hedgehogs. Shadow looked at Sonic to see how he was handling the wound. Electricity ran down their bodies, shocking them. Shadow groaned and stood, looking at the Egg Dragoon. He and Sonic had to end this fast.

"What do you propose we do?" Sonic asked.

Shadow examined the robot. "The orb at the bottom, and the cockpit where Eggman is, seem to be the weak points. Let's aim for those."

"Which one are you going for?"

"Cockpit."

Sonic nodded; then he'd go for the orb. The two hedgehog smirked, and attacked at the same time. Eggman tried to stop them both, but it was hard to do with them attacking from different angles in the manner that they were. In minutes, the Egg Dragoon was destroyed. Sonic looked over at Shadow with a smile.

"We did it," he said. "Let's bring Eggman to jail."

Shadow nodded and grabbed Eggman. They walked back to Tails and vanished in a flash of light as they all teleported to the police station. They handed Eggman over to the police, and left the building.

"Are you going to fix the Tornado?" Sonic asked Tails, who nodded.

"I'm going to."

They watched Tails walk away and smiled.


	24. Going Back Home

Chapter 24: Going Back Home

A week later, the Tornado had been fixed, and Maurice and Shade were hanging out with Tails and Blaze. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang and Chris walked inside.

"You've defeated Eggman," it told the two humans. "Well done."

"Thanks," Maurice said.

"You'll have to go back to your dimension in a few days."

"The way we are now?"

"As hedgehogs," Chris said.

"Why can't they stay here?" Tails asked the Master Emerald.

"They don't belong here. They have to return to their own dimension," it said.

"But...we'd like to stay here," Maurice said.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice in the matter."

Shade sighed. "Will we still become Chaos Emeralds when we get back?"

Chris nodded. "That's part of you now, so yes."

"Can Tails, Blaze and the Tornado come with us?"

"I'll see what I can do."

They smiled and nodded as Chris left, and turned to Tails.

"If you had the choice of staying or going, which would you choose?" Tails asked.

The two turned back into Shadow and Sonic, then looked at each other.

"I'd stay," Sonic said. "What about you, Shads?"

"I think I might have wanted to stay." Shadow shrugged. "I've grown used to this place."

Tails smiled. "I don't want the two of you to leave," he said, and Blaze nodded. "You're the only friends Blaze and I have known."

"That's why I thought it would be nice to have you come with us," Sonic said.

The fox nodded and walked outside. They all opened the garage door and looked at the Tornado. "We're going home soon," Sonic said. He looked at the others. "Is Silver even there anymore?"

Tails shook his head. "The AI's programming has changed completely to the Tornado. That's what it told us a week ago, anyway."

"Oh. That's a shame."

The fox closed the garage door. Two days later, Sonic and Shadow stood in front of Chris and Crimson.

"Are you ready to go home?" Chris asked.

They hesitated. "What would happen if we stay?"

"You wouldn't be in your own dimension, for one thing...I don't know what would happen. I just know that you have to return."

"If you did stay here, your human forms would be permanent," Crimson told them.

"Because our hedgehog forms don't belong here?"

"That's right. Your minds would change back to Maurice and Shade's also."

Sonic thought about it. "I do enjoy being human. What about you, Shadow?"

"So do I," Shadow said. He looked at Chris again. But...if we have to leave..."

"You do. I'm sorry," it said.

"All right. Let's go."

Chris nodded and used his power on them to send them home.

Once there, Sonic and Shadow looked around, and saw Tails, Blaze and the Tornado besides them. "You came with us," Sonic told them.

"Chris did say they could," Shadow said.

Tails smiled and looked around. "This place looks nice so far."

"Earth is a nice place," Sonic said. He looked at Shadow. "Do you think we can become human?'

Shadow shrugged. He closed his eyes and began to transform. His fur shortened and changed. The ears went down and changed. His body began to grow. When it was done, Shade stood in front of them again.

"It looks like we can," he said, and turned back into Shadow.

Sonic smiled and nodded. He looked at Tails and Blaze. "What about the two of you?"

They shook their heads.

Sonic nodded. He groaned in pain as he and Shadow turned into Chaos Emeralds. Tails and Blaze looked at the two Chaos Emeralds. They floated in midair and glowed brightly. Tails took one and looked at it. "It still has all of the power it did in our dimension."

"What should we do with it?" Blaze asked.

"Keep them safe. We don't know anything about this dimension."

"All right."

The emeralds glowed, and a vision came to them. The vision showed them going into a town and talking to some people. It continued and then ended. Blaze looked at the Chaos Emerald she had as its glow faded.

"Apparently it wants us to get used to this dimension," Tails said.

"Then I guess we should look for a town."

They nodded and flew off in the Tornado. It wasn't long before they found a town and landed.

"It's Station Square," Tails said. "But it's different."

"Then maybe we'll know the basic layout of the place," Blaze said.

Tails nodded and they walked around. "I wonder if we'll recognize anyone?"

Blaze shrugged and they walked around. The two emeralds glowed once they flew to Angel Island and saw the Master Emerald. The two emeralds glowed and turned back into Shadow and Sonic. They looked at the Master Emerald and heard Chris' voice in their heads.

_What do you think?_ it asked.

"Think of what?" Sonic asked it.

_This dimension._

"It's okay, despite it being our normal one. We would like to go back to the other, though. How are you and the others here?"

_The Master Emerald's the same across all dimensions. I can come into this dimension, but the only people who would know would be people at the Master Emerald._

Shadow smiled. "Are our Chaos Emerald forms going to become permanent? You mentioned them being a part of us."

_They probably will be._

"When?"

_Soon._

Sonic nodded. "Why will it become permanent?"

The Chaos Emeralds of this dimension can't shift forms.

Shadow and Sonic sighed, but nodded. Tails and Blaze looked at them.

"What's wrong?" The fox asked.

"We're going to permanently become Chaos Emeralds soon," Sonic said. "What should I tell my friends?"

Blaze and Tails looked at each other. "We don't know," Blaze said.

Shadow sighed and looked at the Master Emerald. "What was the point of sending us back here if we're just going to become emeralds permanently?"

The glow from the emerald grew stronger. Shadow had a point. _That's...a good question,_ Chris' voice came again. _I felt like the two of you were supposed to come back here, but maybe I was wrong._

"So does that mean we can go back?"

_Let me think about it._

The anthros nodded and left to go back to their house.


	25. The Choice

Chapter 25: The Choice

Once Sonic had put the Tornado in his garage, he looked at the others. "What should we do while we wait?"

"How about you tell us what this dimension is like," Tails said with a smile.

"It's wonderful. A lot like yours, but with less humans."

"Doesn't Earth have many humans, though?" Blaze asked.

Sonic nodded. "Earth does have a lot of humans. There's just less than your version of it."

The two anthros nodded and looked around. They were impressed with this dimension, and asked Sonic and Shadow many questions about it. The two happily answered each question they had. Eventually, Sonic and Shadow became emeralds again, going back to the Master Emerald. Chris's voice spoke as it glowed.

_I think I can give you the power to choose your form,_ Chris said. _You'll still be living Chaos Emeralds, you just won't have to be stuck in one place all the time._

_Thank you,_ the two said telepathically. _What about going back to the other dimension?_

_I can't send you back. Keeping the two of you there would be too disruptive between the dimensions._

_How would it do that?_ The blue emerald asked. _We'd just become human while there._

The Master Emerald glowed. _That's correct. But it would be the same situation as when you were just there. There shouldn't be two versions of you in the same body._

_Actually,_ one emerald said as it glowed. _It wouldn't. They'd be Maurice and Shade, both in mind and body._

The two emeralds turned back to normal and looked at the deep red one. It was Crimson.

_Are you sure?_ Chris asked.

_I am. You said it would be permanent, anyway._

_I suppose it doesn't matter where you are, then. What are your thoughts on the matter, Sonic? _

"I'd like to go back to the dimension we were in," Sonic said. "But we just got back to our own." He looked at Shadow. "What do you want to do?"

"I can't decide which I would like better."

Sonic thought about it, and turned to Tails and Blaze. "What do you two think?"

"We've lived in the other dimension all of our lives," Tails said.

The hedgehog nodded, and looked at the Master Emerald. "I think we want to go back."

Very well, it said.

A bright light shone from it, and they were gone. When they reappeared, Sonic and Shadow had become Maurice and Shade. Blaze and Tails were there as well, back in their human forms. The four humans smiled at each other and turned to see the Tornado. Miles ran over to it, hugging it as best he could.

The others chuckled and pushed it into the garage. Maurice and Shade groaned, then became Chaos Emeralds.

"I was hoping that wouldn't happen," Blaze sighed. She sighed and took them. A few minutes later, they turned back into Maurice and Shade. "Why do you two keep switching forms?"

"We can change at will," Shade said. "And also because of the Chaos Energy from the Master Emerald."

"I guess that makes sense."

Shade and Maurice smiled.

"So, what are you two going to do now that you're humans permanently?" Miles asked.

"Finish school?" Shade looked at Maurice.

Maurice nodded. "That's what I was thinking."

"Where are you guys going to live?" Miles asked.

"Here, at our house."

Miles smiled."We'll be back at ours."

They nodded and parted ways. Once inside the house, the two brothers looked at each other and smiled.

"Well, we don't have to worry about Eggman anymore," Maurice told Shade.

"That's true. But what if someone else takes his place?"

"Then we'll just have to stop them."

Shade smiled and nodded."What now?" He asked his brother.

"Now, we should get comfortable here." Shade chuckled and they did so. "This is going to be fun," Maurice said.

"Indeed," Shade said.

The two smiled, looking forward to their lives ahead.


End file.
